“If you want to run, run a mile; if you want to change your life, run a marathon.” This is the phrase with which the Czechoslovakian Emil Zatopek, the ‘Human Locomotive’, went down in history, standing in Olympic history since in Helsinki, in 1952, he rose to the altar of sports legends with a triple which is gold. which is almost impossible to do now. Zatopek, with a painful running head, with a figure on the verge of collapse that actually hid a supernatural tenacity, won the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and marathon 72 years ago. Is it impossible to see that again? Yes. Or maybe not so much. Dutch Sifan Hassan is very close to Paris. This Sunday, in the athletic closing of the Games, Hassan, 31, won the marathon with an Olympic record, 2h22:55, throwing the effort recovery time calculations at the highest level, because It is the third medal for Dutchwoman of Ethiopian origin in Paris. He has reached the podium in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, where he won two bronze medals. And all in ten days.
To become Zatopek, or almost, Hassan endured everything in a diabolical circuit, full of tradition, like a postcard, Versaillesque, but very hard, with the same impernal slope that destroyed the men in the men’s event 24 hours before. Hassan was in all versions of the leading group, from the largest to the elite five women who faced the last ten kilometers. If she stays, Hassan ultimately has the advantage in her final sprint as a middle-distance runner, as a woman who, if she wants to, and as she did at the Tokyo Games, can also claim a medal here. at 1,500. And he knows how to exploit that letter.
The gold, the entire podium, is among the five who hold the front, a reflection of the reality of the current marathon: two Kenyans, two Ethiopians and Hassan, the third Ethiopian, but representing the Netherlands. Shankule, one of the Ethiopians, gave up first in the last 3 kilometers. Then, with less than two to go, Lokedi, the second Kenyan, couldn’t hold on. In the last kilometer, the medal trio was decided and the order was lost: Helen Obiri, Tigst Assefa and Sifan Hassan. Obiri fell as Assefa and Hassan tightened the pace to a wild sprint, and at 300 meters a track finish was planned, more like a 5,000 than a marathon. Assefa did his best, but Hassan, with the soul of a middle-distance runner, was always going to be faster. It is, he did not look back. Gold and the second consecutive Olympic treble await him. Since 2021, Hassan has won the 5,000 and 10,000 and third in the 1,500. It is almost impossible to overcome and, however, the entry of the marathon into its triple bet has multiplied the merit of today’s most versatile distance runner. As Zatopek says, the marathon changed his life and made him a legend.
Assefa came in three seconds behind, 2:22.58, and Obiri did so in 2:23.10. Great brand considering the hardness of the route. Among the best it lasted, more or less up to km. 30, the Spanish Majida Maayouf, who finished 17th with 2:28.35. Meritxell Soler followed, 25th with 2:29.56, and Esther Navarrete, 42nd with 2:32.07.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
