"I know France is seething "- Fans react as Sifan Hassan wears hijab on the podium at the Paris Olympics

Sifan Hassan, the Ethiopian-Dutch middle-distance runner, turned heads with her Olympic triple. She won the women's marathon while also clinching bronze in the 5000m and 10,000m events at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fans hailed Hassan for wearing a hijab after French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera stated that a hijab ban would be in effect at the Paris Games.

Sifan Hassan, 31, is known for her extraordinary prowess in distance events. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won the gold medals in the 5000m and 10,000 alongside the 1500m bronze. That made her the only Olympic athlete to achieve a medal treble over middle-distance and long-distance at a single Games.

Hassan had another impressive outing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning the women's marathon in 2:22:55, as well as bronze in the 5000m and 10,000m.

The regulation to ban the hijab at the prestigious event came into effect despite the International Olympic Committee placing no ban on headscarves. However, Hassan wore one during the medal ceremony for the marathon event.

Several fans lauded the Dutchwoman for wearing a hijab in the host country, with one saying that her actions were a good response to France's regulations.

"sifan hassan, a hijabi runner, winning a gold medal at the closing ceremony in front of ALL the athletes and the WHOLE world, i know France is seething," the fan wrote.

Another fan said every woman should have the right to wear what they want in sport and that Hassan has proved it.

"That Sifan Hassan doesn't weat hijab all the time isn't the point. The point is that she does when she wants to. She's a legend and a Muslim woman and if you don't like that legacy, too bad. ALL WOMEN SHOULD BE ABLE TO WEAR WHAT THEY WANT IN SPORT," the fan stated.

Another fan called the last gold winner of the Paris Olympics 'iconic' for her hijab gesture despite not wearing it all the time.

"This is even more iconic bc she doesn’t usually wear hijab! love u sifan"

Here are some of the other reactions:

"The diversity of Muslim women in this Olympic season bas been INCREDIBLE," tweeted a fan.

"A perfect way to stick it to the French," commented a fan.

"almost cried when she received her medal soo proud of her," a fan commented.

Sifan Hassan - "When I finished, I couldn’t stop celebrating"

Sifan Hassan only debuted in the 26.2-mile distance in 2023 at the London Marathon. Until then she had only seen Olympic marathon champions on TV, but when she won it herself, Hassan couldn't stop celebrating.

"When I finished, the whole moment was a release. It is unbelievable. I have never experienced anything like that. Even the other marathons I have run were not close to this. When I finished, I couldn’t stop celebrating. I was feeling dizzy. I wanted to lie down. Then I thought, ‘I am the Olympic champion. How is this possible?'" she said. (via Olympics.com)

With her exploits at the Paris Olympics, Sifan Hassan has now become the first woman to clinch medals in the 5000m, 10000m and marathon events, emulating the legendary Emil Zatopek's feat from the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

The Dutchwoman now has six Olympic medals to her name so far.