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Sifan Hassan etched her name in the history books on Saturday when she broke a five-year-long world record in the women's 10000m race by clocking 29:06.82 minutes in her hometown of Hengelo. However, Letesenbet Gidey shattered the record two days later.
Competing at the same venue, Gidey posted a time of 29:01.03 in the Ethiopian Olympic Trials that sealed her qualification. Hassan, however, is happy that Gidey broke her women's 10000m world record.
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Speaking during the pre-event press conference at the 2021 Golden Gala Diamond League, Hassan said:
"I am kind of happy because now the (women's) 10000m event is going to be a very popular event. It's getting exciting. Earlier people said it is boring. It is all about Tokyo this year and now I have to work hard and I am happy. I am not surprised because now I have to run faster and work harder for the Olympics. Congratulations to her."
'You don't know if you are going to win it till you finish the race,' says Netherlands' Sifan Hassan on the 1500m race
Sifan Hassan will be participating in the women's 1500m race at the Golden Gala meet on Thursday, an event where she finished fifth in the Rio Olympics. She became the first athlete to clinch a gold medal in both the women's 1500m and 10000m races at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.
Hassan will be racing her first 1500m event in two years. Speaking on the difference between the 1500m and 10000m races, the Ethiopian-born Dutch said:
"The 1500m (race) is very exciting. You don't know if you are going to win it till you finish the race. Everybody is almost the same. You run with your maximum speed till the last. It's very hard. For me, it's challenging to run the 1500m."
The women's 1500m event at the Golden Gala meeting on Thursday will be a two-way showdown between Sifan Hassan and 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallist Faith Kipyegon. It remains to be seen who comes out on top.
