Sifan Hassan's coach details massive improvements made by Dutch star
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Reading Time: 3min | Mon. 18.11.24. | 21:31
Hassan made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics where she became the first woman to compete in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon
Sifan Hassan's rise to the pinnacle of athletics has been nothing short of extraordinary. From dominating the 1,500m to becoming one of the fastest marathoners in history, she has achieved milestones that few thought possible.
Yet, amid her historic triple at the Tokyo Olympics and her breathtaking marathons in London and Chicago, she remains untainted by doping allegations. This is a rare feat for an athlete of her stature.
Her story took a decisive turn in 2017 when she joined Alberto Salazar's Oregon Project at the age of 24.
At the time, the Ethiopian-born athlete was already a world-class athlete with personal bests of 1:58 (800m), 3:56 (1,500m), and 14:59 (5,000m), as well as a bronze medal from the 2015 World Championships.
Since then, under the guidance of her coach Tim Rowberry, she has shattered barriers with times of 1:56, 3:51, and 14:13. Her medal tally now includes three Olympic golds, two World Championship titles, and record-breaking performances across events, from middle-distance to marathons.
Speaking on the LetsRundotcom YouTube channel hosted by Jon Gault, Rowberry attributed Hassan’s success to a strategic progression and a mindset focused on possibility rather than doubt.
“When I started working with her, I thought I was just going to be a middle-distance coach,” he recalled.
Convincing Hassan to focus on the 1,500m was the first step in a journey of balancing multiple events.
“The only reason someone cannot balance events is because they do not train for it,” Rowberry offered.
This philosophy was key to Hassan's groundbreaking triple in Tokyo, where she competed in the marathon, 10,000m, and 1,500m. Rowberry admits it was a risky move but the results spoke for themselves.
“You go into those competitions knowing you might not get a medal in anything. I might be shooting myself in the foot,” he said.
The cornerstone of her training, according to Rowberry, lay in using every workout to predict race readiness.
This meticulous approach allowed Hassan to transition seamlessly from her London Marathon triumph to competing at the World Championships in Budapest, and then excelling at the Chicago Marathon, all in a single year.
“If your workout is not predicting race shape, then you’re wasting your time,” he said.
Rowberry went on to dismiss doping allegations, noting that they were a reflection of limiting beliefs.
“The mindset of ‘people are doping’ is a defeating attitude. It shuts you out of the possibility of performing better because you don’t think it’s possible,” he said.
He instead emphasized the role of mental strength, arguing that mindset is one of the biggest things in performance.
Hassan made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics where she became the first woman to compete in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon at a single edition of the global games.
She won bronze in both track events before claiming gold in the marathon, just a day after the 10,000m final. Her remarkable sprint finish in the marathon saw her defeat Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa in the final meters of the 42.195-kilometer race.
Beyond this accolade, Hassan is also in contention for the global Athlete of the Year award, where she is among five nominees.
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