Sifan Hassan lowers the bar for the World Cup: “Three weeks ago, I was still panicked” | NOW

Sifan Hassan became the athletic queen of the Tokyo Olympics last year with three medals, but there’s no way she’ll be so successful again next week and a half at the World Championships in Eugene, USA. The 29-year-old Dutchwoman doesn’t even know which two distances she will be running at the moment.

“I will make a decision on Wednesday, but I already know that I will not run three distances anymore,” Hassan said Monday from the United States during an online press briefing. “In Tokyo, I was good at three distances, so I know I can achieve something beautiful at all three distances. Only, I’m not as good this year as in 2021.”

In Tokyo, she wrote the history of Dutch athletics with two gold medals (5,000 and 10,000 meters) and a bronze (1,500 meters). The schedule has been incredibly difficult and packed for Hassan, which is not even possible at the World Championships in Eugene.

The 10,000 meters is scheduled at the World Cup on the same day as the 1,500 meters series, so Hassan will have to choose between these two distances. She is sure to run the 5000m.

Sifan Hassan in Tokyo with the 10,000 meter gold.

“The motivation was gone”

Because of her Olympic titles and because Hassan became world champion three years ago in Doha in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, there are high expectations of her in Eugene, but the athlete is tempering expectations. She is cautious after a physically and mentally difficult year.

“I had a hard time getting back into my sport,” said Hassan, who only played his first game of the season in Portland last week. “The Games were a highlight, but it was difficult for me to set new goals.”

Hassan took a long vacation, during which she did not train. “The motivation was gone. I didn’t do anything for two or three months. It was good, because at some point I missed racing again. I wanted to train again.”

At the Doha World Championships in 2019, Sifan Hassan won gold twice.

“I would have skipped the year without the World Cup”

However, the last few months have not gone as Hassan wished. She even thought about not organizing competitions for the whole of 2022.

“If there hadn’t been a World Cup, I think I would have done that too. No, it wouldn’t have been bad to take a year off mentally and physically. I didn’t care, because I have these Olympic medals. Then I started preparing for the World Cup about ten weeks ago, I also felt how good I went in Tokyo.”

Hassan had leg pain and a lung infection. “Until three weeks ago it just wasn’t going well. I was freaked out. What was it supposed to be for the World Cup? But suddenly it got better past and now I feel good and happy, even if it does not mean that I will win medals.”

Perhaps Hassan is even content with a medal for Eugene. “I know where I come from. And I know now that training hard pays off. I’ve trained less hard now than in previous years and if it turns out that’s not enough for the gold, so never mind. And maybe it won’t be bronze or silver. I don’t know where I stand compared to my competitors. Maybe they trained a lot harder than me and they are better.”

The World Cup in Eugene begins Friday and lasts until Sunday, July 24.