Hassan at the 2015 World Championships
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Personal information | |
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Nationality | Dutch |
Born |
Nazreth, Ethiopia |
January 1, 1993
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
Weight | 49 kg (108 lb) |
Sport | |
Country | Netherlands |
Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | 1500 metres |
Club | Nike Oregon Project |
Coached by | Alberto Salazar |
Medal record
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Sifan Hassan (Oromo: Siifan Hassan; born 1993) is an Ethiopian-Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is the Dutch indoor record holder for the 1500 metres and 3000 metres and was the under-23 winner at the 2013 European Cross Country Championships. Hassan won the gold medal at 1500 m at the European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014.
Born in Nazreth in Ethiopia, she left the country as a refugee and arrived in the Netherlands in 2008 at age fifteen. She began running while undertaking studies to become a nurse.
Affiliated with Eindhoven Atletiek, she entered the Eindhoven Half Marathon in 2011 and won the race with a time of 77:10 minutes. She was also runner-up at two cross country races (Sylvestercross and Mol Lotto Cross Cup). She won those races in 2012, as well as the 3000 m at the Leiden Gouden Spike meeting.
Sifan made her breakthrough in the 2013 season. She ran an 800 metres best of 2:00.86 minutes to win at the KBC Night of Athletics and took wins over 1500 m at the Nijmegen Global Athletics and Golden Spike Ostrava meetings. On the 2013 IAAF Diamond League circuit she was runner-up in the 1500 m at Athletissima with a personal best of 4:03.73 minutes and was third at the DN Galan 3000 m with a best of 8:32.53 minutes – this time ranked her the fourth fastest in the world that year.