Sifan Hassan demonstrated her speed during the 1500m at the Diamond League meeting in Paris on Saturday night, crossing the line in a dashing Dutch record time of 3:57.00.
This performance was more than two seconds quicker than her previous best of 3:59.38, although she was not aware of how fast she was running throughout the race.
“I had no idea of the time until I crossed the line? I was shocked. I thought to myself just before the bell ‘this is a 4:04 race’.
“I wasn’t watching the clock because I was concentrating hard on checking what everyone else in the race was doing.” Hassan told IAAF.
Sweden’s Abeba Aregawi, reigning world champion indoors and out, has been such a dominant force in the Diamond League so far this year.
However this was not the case in Paris where she experienced some stomach issues and only managed tenth place.
This time it was Jennifer Simpson of the United States who put up the fight against Hassan.
Simpson picked up the speed once the pacemakers were out, but with 300m left to go Hassan surged forward and her finish was too strong to be caught.
With a bit more than a month left until the European Athletics Championships in Zurich (12-17 August), it will be intriguing to see how much more Hassan can progress in order to challenge her Swedish counterpart for gold.
“I also think I can improve a lot more. I’m only 21 so I have many more years in the sport,” Hassan said.
So even if it’s not for this summer, surely Hassan will pose a serious threat in the future.
It’s not a surprise to see Hassan perform at this level. We had got a glimpse of her talent when she took under-23 gold at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade last December.
“I actually think I like cross country slightly more than the track, I feel free when I’m running. It’s far too early to talk about exactly what I’m going to do this winter but I love cross country so I’m thinking about the European Championships (which will be held in Samokov, Bulgaria, this December) and the World Cross Country Championships next year.
“They are important events for me. The Europeans in Belgrade last December was the first championship when I was able to represent Holland, and I’ve never raced at a World Cross before, so I’m excited by the idea of doing them.”
It now seems that her cross country speed has converted to the track, in what we hope will be a fantastic summer season for the young Dutchwoman.