LONDON (AFP) - Sifan Hassan staged a remarkable rally to win the women’s London Marathon on Sunday in the Olympic track champion’s first race over the distance as Kenya’s Kiptum won the men’s race in the second-fastest time in history.
It looked as if Hassan’s debut marathon would end in disappointment when the 5,000 and 10,000 meters Olympic gold medallist from the Covid-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games was dropped from the leading group and left holding her side after the hour mark.
It would have been impressive enough had the Ethiopian-born Dutch runner, a Muslim who had been fasting due to Ramadan, just completed the course on the rainswept streets of the British capital, with Hassan then grabbing her hip and stopping to stretch off the injury.
Hassan, however, recovered to rejoin the leaders with three miles to go.
Despite making a mess of collecting a drink from a water station and almost being hit by a race motorcycle, the 30-year-old recovered and even offered rival Yalemzerf Yehualaw, last year’s winner, a swig from her bottle.
Hassan, 30, then burst clear in a sprint finish to win in a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds.