Hassan nabs first gold in her quest for the triple crown

Barely one day ago, Sifan Hassan announced she would be attempting the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m triple crown, and today she has gotten one step closer to her goal. Many track fans have doubted the Dutch runner could win gold in all three events, but she has officially checked the 5,000m off her list after winning the race in 14:36.79.

Not your typical Monday for @SifanHassan:

– Fell during the 1500m heats.
– Got up and won the race.
– Entered the 5000m final.
– Secured #NED's first #Athletics gold since 1992. pic.twitter.com/8rJQhtcRI8

— Olympics (@Olympics) August 2, 2021

RELATED: Matt Hughes finishes sixth in steeplechase final 

Prior to the race, few doubted Hassan’s ability to make it onto the Olympic podium, but with runners like Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri to contend with, her gold medal was far from being a sure thing. On top of that, Hassan had competed in the first round of the 1,500m only 12 hours earlier, when she fell in her heat and had to charge from the back of the pack to take the win.

It was a tight race with Obiri leading at the bell lap, but Hassan unleashed an incredible 57-seconds final 400 metres to take over the front position with 250 metres to go. Both Obiri and Tsegay closed their last lap under 60 seconds, but it was not enough to catch Hassan for the win. Obiri finished less than two seconds behind her in 14:38.36 for the silver medal and Tsegay rounded out the podium with the bronze in 14:38.87. Canada’s Andrea Secaffien finished 15th in 15:12.09.

Andrea Seccafien works her way to a 15th place finish in the women's 5,000 metres, crossing the line in a time of 15:12.09 in the muggy Tokyo night.#ExperienceGreatness #Athletics #TeamCanada pic.twitter.com/QmW5A2rIgI

— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) August 2, 2021

RELATED: Genevieve Lalonde sets national in 3,000m steeplechase semi-final

Hassan will step back on the track on Wednesday evening (Wednesday morning in Canada) for the 1,500m semi-finals and if she qualifies through, she’ll compete in the final on Friday. Her final event will be the 10,000m, which will take place on Saturday evening (Saturday morning in Canada).