Hassan wins the Marathon Crime in a hard final
Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan is the Marathon Queen of Paris. The Dutchwoman, who is already a two-time Olympic champion on the track, prevails in a thrilling finale. There's even physical contact with her toughest competitor in the final meters.
Sifan Hassan has won Olympic gold in the marathon after two bronze medals on the track. The Dutchwoman won in a thrilling and tough final sprint in an Olympic record time of 2:22:55 hours, ahead of world record holder Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia, with physical contact occurring between the two in the final. During an overtaking maneuver in a curve, Hassan was almost pushed into the barriers as runners tried to improve their position. Kenya's Hellen Obiri took third place, earning her third Olympic medal.
Like in Tokyo, Hassan leaves the Olympics as a triple medalist. After bronze over 5,000 and 10,000 meters, she now has gold. In total, she is a three-time Olympic champion.
Germany's marathon runners couldn't compete for the top spots in the final Olympic athletics events. The best German runner was Regensburg's Domenika Mayer, who finished 28th in 2:30:14 hours. Favorites Melat Kejeta dropped out towards the end of the first half of the challenging race. Laura Hottenrott finished 38th in 2:31:19.
The challenging course initially passed by many attractions, then went over hills to the castle in Versailles and back to Paris. The inclines made it difficult for runners even during hydration. The fight for medals intensified at the climb just before the 30-kilometer mark. Nine runners were still together after the downhill passage - then the pace intensified more and more.
The thrilling final sprint faced several challenges, including physical contact with her toughest competitor, highlighting the intensity of The problem. With her Olympic record-breaking time and gold medal, Sifan Hassan successfully overcame The problem.
