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LONDON: Sifan Hassan concedes she remembers little about her remarkable marathon debut two years ago in London when she stopped twice to stretch her hip before her stunning kick down the home stretch to victory, but she is hoping for less drama in Sunday’s race.
The 32-year-old Dutchwoman, who headlines the women’s field for the 45th edition of the London Marathon, laughed when asked on Friday if she is poised for an even better performance on her return to England’s capital.
“Better than two years ago? I’m never going to be better than two years ago,” Hassan told reporters.
“I don’t know why I get nervous and scared about the marathon but you have to go for over two hours,” she added. “I had a lot of drama in my win two years ago.”
The Olympic champion over 5,000 and 10,000 meters dropped back from the field in the 2023 London race due to cramping before drawing on her track experience to out-sprint Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir and Alemu Megertu of Ethiopia.
“Everybody is asking me ‘Do you remember what happened in London in 2023?’ I don’t remember a lot of it all honesty. I was throwing up before the race and then I had some issues in the race,” Hassan said. “The biggest thing I remember was the last five kilometers and that part was crazy.”
Hassan went on to win Olympic marathon gold last year in Paris in similarly dramatic fashion, battling Tigst Assefa before finally shaking off the Ethiopian with the finish line in sight.
“I never knew that I’d have that much patience for a race like the marathon,” Hassan said. “Every marathon is different, like Paris, Chicago, London or Tokyo.
“Every time you run the London Marathon, it’s like competing the Olympics. I’m excited to race because we all know each other as well. It’s a beautiful sport.”
Sunday’s field took a hit when world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich and last year’s London champion Jepchirchir withdrew earlier this month.
Former world record-holder Assefa and 2021 London champion Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya will look to give Hassan a run for her money.
“London Marathon is a big event and there are lots of reasons why I like to run here,” Assefa said on Friday. “To win here will mean so much to me in my career.”
Jepkosgei said she relishes the “great opportunity” to line up against Hassan and Assefa, adding: “A marathon is like a book and you open each chapter every time you run. I learn on every occasion I compete.”
Uganda’s half-marathon world record-holder Jacob Kiplimo, who is making his marathon debut, Ethiopia’s Olympic champion Tamirat Tola and marathon great Eliud Kipchoge headline the elite men’s field.
Reigning Paralympic marathon champions Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug top the women’s and men’s wheelchair fields, while Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee and British distance specialist Eilish McColgan, both making their debut in the 41.195-kilometer distance, are among the top British contenders.

BEIJING: Swedish superstar Armand “Mondo” Duplantis did not rule out another pole vault world record on the eve of his outdoor season opener, a month after the Paris 2024 champion snagged his third consecutive indoor title in China.
“I never really rule out anything,” he told reporters on the eve of the Diamond League event in the eastern city of Xiamen, adding that he hadn’t checked the conditions for Saturday but felt “really good.”
The 25-year-old set the first of his three world records in 2024 at the Xiamen Egret Stadium, clearing 6.24 meters at his first attempt.
He has since bettered his own mark to 6.27 meters, set at the All Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand, France, in February after clearing 6.26 meters in Poland and 6.25 meters in Paris before a rapturous Olympic crowd.
He was named the 2025 World Sportsman of the Year on Monday, an honor he shares with Tiger Woods and Usain Bolt.
“It’s quite surreal,” he said.
Duplantis is joined in Xiamen by a star-studded cast that includes nine other world record holders and more than 20 reigning individual champions.
This weekend will also see the return of 200m world champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, who missed the chance of gold in Paris due to injury.
“I took some time to get healthy and I’m excited,” said the 30-year-old who will compete in the 200m for the first time since last July.
“I just want to cross the line healthy,” she said.


The 15-meet Diamond League this year is up against Grand Slam Track, which debuted in Kingston this month and runs through to June.
Conceived by former US sprint star Michael Johnson, the four-event series aims to showcase more races between the world’s best runners, sprinters and hurdlers as a way of drawing more eyes to athletics outside Olympic years.
Next week’s Diamond League stop in Shanghai/Suzhou conflicts with Grand Slam’s second meet in Miami.
Norway’s Karsten Warholm, US hurdling star Grant Holloway and Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana are among the stars who have committed to back-to-back meets in China instead of Grand Slam.
Also taking to the track on Saturday will be Kenya’s three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon in the 1,000m, while teammate Beatrice Chebet, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, will face Ethiopia’s 5,000m world record holder — and two-time world champion — Gudaf Tsegay over 5km.
American sprinter Christian Coleman will also begin his outdoor season in Xiamen along with Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the Paris women’s high jump champion.