Sifan Hassan who is a Muslim by religion is a Dutch track star who won a gold medal and two bronze medals at the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, find out more about her and her achievements below
Sifan notably won the gold in both 5000 and 10000m during the Tokyo Olympics and won bronze in both events at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
What is the religion of Sifan Hassan as she wears hijab to 2024 Paris Olympics medal ceremony
Hassan is currently the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and long-distance races during a single Games.
Sifan Hassan bio
Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner who was born on January 1, 1993, in Adama, Ethiopia. She is currently 31 years old and competes in middle- and long-distance races. Sifan grew up in the Kersa countryside in the Munesa district of the Arsi Zone in Oromia.
During her time there, she was a recreational runner before leaving her home country as a refugee for the Netherlands. She arrived in the Netherlands back in 2008 at the young age of 15. Hassan initially began running while undertaking nursing studies but eventually began running full-time. Hassan eventually became a Dutch citizen back in 2013.
Height and weight
Sifan Hassan stands at a height of 1.7 m and roughly weighs around 49 kg.
Nationality
Hassan is a Dutch national with Ethiopian descent and is a Muslim by religion.
sifan hassan wearing her hijab at the closing ceremony as she gets the gold for winning the women’s marathon. in france.. where they’ve banned the hijab… my queen 🫂🥇 pic.twitter.com/THrV4fTov7
— L 🧸 (@vvvmiserable) August 11, 2024
Sifan Hassan coach
Sifan started out under coach Honore Hoedt in 2012 who saw her raw potential and took her under his wing. She then trained under former American long-distance runner Alberto Salazar, but things eventually went down south. Salazar got embroiled in various sexual and emotional misconduct violations accusations and received a ban for life from coaching in 2021 from the United States Center for SafeSport.
Hassan eventually joined the now-disbanded Nike-funded Oregon Project in 2016, before training under Tim Rowberry, who was Salazar’s assistant. She managed to find success with him and currently remains under his guidance. Rowberry works as an assistant to Utah Valley cross country head coach, Scott Houle and coaches long-distance, middle-distance, and cross-country runners.
Career
Sifan Hassan arrived from Ethiopia ad initially took a nursing course to kick-start her career. However, things changed after Eindhoven Atletiek coaching team president Ad Peeters, saw her potential. And after meeting other Ethiopian athletes, Sifan eventually decided to take up running. Hassan initially had a hard time adjusting due to lack of necessary discipline for training and a limited lack of coordination of her legs and arms.
However, the coaches there eventually guided Hassan to develop into a talented runner. She soon received the Dutch Olympic passport, and travelled to the elite Olympic training center in Papendal. Hassan has since won various medals at multiple championships at major national, continental and world events. She currently holds the record of being the second of three women to complete an Olympic double in distance running.
Sifan Hassan achievements
Hassan is a three-time World Indoor Championships medallist, after winning gold at 1500 m in 2016 and a silver and bronze in 2018 at 3000 m 1500 m respectively. She had previously won a bronze at the 1500 m in 2015, and another bronze at the 5000 m in 2017. Back in the 2019 World Athletics Championships, Hassan took the 1,500 m and 10,000 m titles. In doing so, she became the only athlete in history to win both events at a single World Championships or Olympic Games.
She has so far won six European medals, and one European indoor medal. Sifan Hassan is also a three-time Diamond League winner after previously winning the 1500 m/5000 m double in 2019. She notably won the 2023 London Marathon during her debut over the classic 26.2-mile distance.
Hassan also holds the world record for the one hour run ever since 2020 and held the world record for the one mile on the track from July 2019 to July 2023. She currently holds six European records as well as three other Dutch records. Sifan had a very successful outing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021. She won two golds in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m event, and a bronze in the 1500m event. During the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, Hassan won a bronze medal in both the women’s 5,000 m and 10,000 m events. She also managed to win a gold in the women’s marathon event.