Sifan Hassan, the Complete RunBlogRun Interview , speaks on her running origins, her experiences, and her recent Olympic medals

Sifan Hassan is one of the most popular and fascinating athletes in the world! In all of our social media for Paris 2024, Sifan Hassan was most popular global athlete from Paris 2024! 

Sifan Hassan and her family moved to the Netherlands in 2008 at 15 as a political refugee from Ethiopia. Sifan became a citizen of the Netherlands in 2013. This writer first saw her at the 2014 European Athletics Outdoor Championships in August 2014 in Zurich. At the EAC, Sifan took bronze in the 5,000m and won the 1,500m! It was always fun watching Sifan race and her emotional response to her racing and obvious enjoyment of the sport! 

Sifan has always raced over the spectrum. Early in her career, she ran from 800 meters to the half marathon to cross country. In December 2013, Sifan Hassan took gold in the European Athletics U 23 Cross Country champs, plus helped the Netherlands team take the bronze medal! That was the first time she represented her new country, the Netherlands. 

Sifan owned the world record in the mile from 2019 to 2023 (4:12). She owned the 10,000m world record for two days and still owns the World record for the hour run (18,930 meters is 11.7623 miles), which is brutal! 

In terms of European records? Sifan Hassan holds European records at 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m, half marathon and marathon! 

Sifan Hassan is a tremendously talented athlete who works hard, laughs, and races with abandon. On RunBlogRun’s global audience, she is one of our most popular, judging by social media response, and the article reads. 

We reached out to Brett Holts at NIKE sports marketing and asked if he could help us reach Sifan Hassan. Not only did Brett Holts get it done, but the speed with which the interview came back was incredible! 

We hope you enjoy these insights into Sifan Hassan, who just won bronze at the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and then gold in the marathon! Those are her fourth, fifth, and sixth Olympic medals. 

Cross-Country

1. RunBlogRun: Sifan, what were your first experiences in cross country like? What’s your biggest lesson from running cross country? What is the best racing tip you can give young runners about cross country?

Sifan Hassan:  I have always loved cross-country. I grew up in the mountains and actually most enjoy running on uneven terrain.

Cross country taught me so much in terms of patience and placement in racing. I love the freedom of movement in cross country, which you also
find in road running. In track races, everybody’s afraid of running too hard or running too far on an outside lane. I don’t like this, so I always stay in the back. I feel like cross-country gives you many more options.

I recommend starting off slowly and pacing yourself well. I remember starting off way too fast once, and it felt more complicated than a marathon.

2. RunBlogRun: Will we see you race more cross-country races?

Sifan Hassan: I would absolutely love to! I like the idea of including cross-country races in the build-up to a marathon. The schedule makes it hard, but I would love to include more next season.

Tokyo 2020

3. RunBlogRun; In Tokyo, in the heats, you fell in the 1,500m, and I remember you getting up and sprinting to catch up, moving to the final; tell us about that race?

Sifan Hassan: It was one of the most emotional moments of my career. The Olympics are the highest point in our sport, something I’ve worked so hard for. Thinking I might lose my chance at a medal because of a fall made me get back up immediately and focus even more on what I wanted to accomplish. It also gave me the push I needed for the 5000m final later that evening.

Budapest 2023

4. RunBlogRun: How’s the fall in the homestretch of the 10,000m impacted you?

Sifan Hassan: Of course, I would have preferred not to fall. But if I can put it this way, I don’t think I needed the medal to prove something to myself. Making it that far into the race was an achievement in itself, and though the fall was unfortunate, I was still happy with my performance. Seeing Femke (Bol) fall in the relay later on also helped put things into perspective for both of us, I think.

Paris 2024

5. RunBlogRun: The longer the race, the better you seem to do; tell us how tough the Paris triple was?

Sifan Hassan: I was terrified but also inquisitive about what might happen. I took it one step at a time, staying grateful, resting as much as possible, and focusing on my nutrition. The 5000m was where I felt the most uncertain, but the heat gave me confidence, and I was thrilled with the result in the final. Once that was done, I could focus on the 10,000m and the marathon. I wasn’t delighted with the 10,000m; I felt I had a chance for gold, but it motivated me more for the marathon. Crossing the marathon’s finish line was like a firework in my head. I was happy to win but even more pleased to have completed my mission.

6. RunBlogRun: Tell us about that finish in Paris in the marathon? It was like a bike race!

Sifan Hassan: With a bike, climb in the middle! (laughs) I just tried to stay focused and be careful to the finish line. In the last few meters, I kept
telling myself, “Don’t fall, don’t fall!” because you never know what might happen. I wasn’t happy with my 10,000m race a couple of days earlier, so I think that made me focus more and fight harder. The marathon was significant to me.

Miscellaneous

7. RunBlogRun: You have raced the 800m to the marathon. Do you have a favorite distance?

Sifan Hassan: I love all distances for different reasons, but I’ve really come to love the marathon.

Major Marathons

8. RunBlogRun: In your first marathon in London, you stopped several times, and announcers thought you were out of the race! It was so exciting to watch you race there; tell us about your first marathon?

Sifan Hassan: It was a unique experience. Before the race, my coach and I looked at the field and thought, “This might get tough, but let’s see what happens.” I was happy to catch up with the pack despite the struggles and, obviously, so pleased with the result.

9. RunBlogRun: Your marathon in Chicago was spectacular, and you seemed to have so much fun in the presser. Post-event, you thanked the media for covering you; how do you look at racing? What is your philosophy?

Sifan Hassan: My coach and I already had the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon on target in our mind. London was great, but I wanted to see whether I could run a fast marathon before Paris. So yeah, I was very pleased after that.

Legacy

10. RunBlogRun: If you were speaking to a room of young women from around the world who want to run, what would you tell them?

Sifan Hassan: Please, please, please inspire the people around you to run as well. Exercise is so important. It makes you healthier, it makes you live longer, it
helps you to set goals in all areas of your life, etc. So, try to inspire the people around you to run, too.

Training

11. RunBlogRun: What is the workout you do not like but is always a good workout for you?

Sifan Hassan: Ugh, any 5k-specific workout. I hate kilometer reps, but they are so important!

Gear

12. RunBlogRun: What shoes do you train in?

Sifan Hassan: I switch between different Nike models, but I use the Nike Infinity the most.

13. RunBlogRun; What shoes do you race in (track and road)?

Sifan Hassan: Nike Victory & Dragonfly (track), Nike Alphafly 3 (road).

Special thanks to Sifan Hassan for taking the time for the interview. Simon Barieu (Go Badgers) was very critical to this interview. Thanks to Johnny Nielsen and Brett Holts. 

As this article was being pubished, Sifan Hassan announced that the Qatar Foundation had recognized Sifan as a global role model for young women. Sifan will aslo be an ambassador for track & field for the QF foundation, more here: https://www.qf.org.qa/stories/qf-launches-the-creating-pathways-program-to-develop-local-girls-sporting