Netherlands athlete Sifan Hassan has etched herself into Olympic folklore by winning gold in the Paris women’s marathon, just days after claiming two bronze medals on the track.
And she had to get physical to do it, in what was a thrilling sprint to the finish with Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa.
A lead group of five became four, then three, and finally two with just a few hundred metres left on the tricky Paris course.
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Assefa had the lead and was trying to check Hassan’s every move as the Dutch athlete looked for a way around to take the gold medal position.
Just as the pair were about to reach the final straight, Hassan tried to come up on the left of Assefa, who reacted once again by blocking her run.
Only this time, the crowd barrier was in the way, so the two runners collided in a dramatic moment of theatre.
They were lucky to both stay upright after bumping shoulders, but it was Hassan who recovered best, finally completing the move that would win her the Olympic gold medal.
“She has just done something that is out of this world, to go from the track to the marathon in the same Olympic Games and win the gold medal — incredible effort,” Tamsyn Lewis-Manou said on Nine.
Gerard Whateley added: “This is one of the great marathons.”
Her win means Hassan will leave Paris with three medals: a bronze in each of the 5000 and 10,000 metre races on the track, and gold in the marathon on the road.
She now has six Olympic medals in total, having won gold in the 5000 and 10,000 metre races in Tokyo, and bronze in the 1500.
Watching the vision of the collision back on replay, Dave Culbert was shocked at how hard the contact was, but said there was nothing untoward from either runner.
“Oh, dear! It was just a racing incident, I think,” he said on Nine.
“They were good to each other, they bounced off and thankfully they stayed on their feet.”
Whateley added: “It was tremendous theatre.”
Hassan won in a Games record of two hours 22 minutes and 55 seconds, just three seconds ahead of Assefa, with the bronze going to Kenyan Hellen Obiri.
Australians Jess Stenson and Genevieve Gregson shared a smile as they each took a turn at the lead at the halfway stage on Sunday.
Stenson, 36, ran on strongly to finish 13th in 2:26:45, while the 34-year-old Gregson did it tough in the last few kilometres, crossing the line in 24th spot in 2:29:56.
The third Australian, Sinead Diver, pulled out very early in the race with what was later diagnosed as bilateral cramping in both quadriceps.
Stenson had an anxious wait before her place in the Australian team was confirmed in early July after four-time Olympian Lisa Weightman unsuccessfully appealed her non-selection.
The only Australian to win an Olympic marathon medal was Lisa Ondieki, who was second in the women’s race in Seoul in 1988.
– With AAP