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The Hague (AFP)
Ethiopian-born Dutch runner Sifan Hassan broke Paula Ratcliffe’s European record for the women’s 10,000 meters on Saturday.
Hassan, who won double gold in the 1,500m and 10,000m at last year’s world championships in Doha, clocked 29min 36:67sec after 25 laps in wet conditions at Hengelo.
She erased by more than 24 seconds the previous record of 30:01:09 set by Britain’s Ratcliffe in 2002. Only seven other runners have been below the 30-minute mark, and Hassan becomes the first European to do so.
“I am very happy to have achieved a new European record, especially a record that has been held for so long by an athlete as strong as Paula,” said Hassan, who holds the world record in both the 5km race and the mile. both set in 2019, as well as the one-hour race, set in Brussels in September.
“It was a very difficult race today because of the cold and rain. I felt very strong today and I wanted a little better conditions, but this record gives me a lot of confidence.”
Despite having the help of the new Wavelight technology incorporated into the track, conditions proved too difficult for Hassan, who was trained by the now banned Alberto Salazar, to actually launch a world record attempt.
That record belongs to Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia, who clocked 29: 17.45 when she won gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
© 2020 AFP
