IAAF Diamond League: Hassan Completes Distance Double in Brussels
Brussels, Belgium – Just eight days after claiming the 1500m title, Sifan Hassan secured her second IAAF Diamond League crown of 2019 by winning the 5,000m at the AG Memorial Van Damme here today.
She did so in convincing fashion too, sprinting away from a field that included world champion Hellen Obiri, Kenyan 10,000m champion Agnes Tirop, German record-holder Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Ethiopian 10,000m champion Letesenbet Gidey.
The opening pace wasn’t quite as fast as had been requested with the field being taken through 1000m in 2:55.94. The pacemaker dropped out one lap later, leaving Eva Cherono as the leader with the following two kilometres each covered a shade inside three minutes.
Gidey moved to the front of the pack with about a kilometre left and was joined by Obiri, Klosterhalfen and Hassan as they broke away from the rest of the field on the penultimate lap. They bunched together at the sound of the bell, but had no response when Hassan kicked with 300 metres remaining.
The Dutch runner, who broke the world mile record in Monaco earlier this year, dashed away from her opponents to win in 14:26.26, crossing the line three seconds ahead of her nearest rival, Gidey, who finished second in 14:29.54. Klosterhalfen was a close third in 14:29.89 while Obiri finished a few strides behind.
Source: IAAF.org
