Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands wins women's 5,000m; one step closer to Olympic golden treble
Hassan ticked the first box in her audacious golden treble bid winning the women’s 5,000m title becoming the first Dutch woman to win an Olympic medal in a long-distance event.
Athletics
Sifan Hassan ticked the first box in her audacious golden treble bid winning the women's 5,000m title, becoming the first Dutch woman to win an Olympic medal in a long-distance event, winning in a time of 14:36.79.
The Dutch woman bided her time in the middle of the pack for most of the race but moved up in the field as the pace picked up on the final bell lap. Hassan showed an impressive tun of speed, taking the lead for the first time in the 12-and-half-lap race with 200 metres to go.
Kenya's Hellen Obiri tried to stay with her, but Hassan pulled away to take the title. Obiri had to be content with her second consecutive silver medal in the event finishing in 14:38.36 with Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia bagging bronze with 14:38.87.
She became the first non-Kenyan or Ethiopian athlete to win the title since Romanian distance ace Gabriela Szabo won gold in Syndey 2000.
Hassan is now on target to become only the second female athlete after Tirunesh Dibaba in Beijing 2008 to win the 5,000m/10,000m double at the same Olympic Games.