Sifan Hassan to make World Cross Country debut in Belgrade

ATHLETICS Sifan Hassan to make World Cross Country debut in Belgrade

Abigael Wafula 15:12 - 09.03.2024

Sifan Hassan is not resting on her laurels as she will be making her World Cross-country debut in three weeks.

Reigning Chicago Marathon champion Sifan Hassan will be making her World Cross Country debut at this year’s edition of the event in Belgrade, Serbia.

The London Marathon champion, known as a woman of all surfaces will seek to make an impact on the global event scheduled for March 30 ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris, France.

The announcement was made by World Athletics, who shared the news on their social media handles saying: “Hold up, Sifan Hassan is heading to Belgrade in three weeks to make her #WorldCrossCountry debut on 30 March 2024.”

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The double Olympic champion has been successful on both the track and roads and will be hopeful of also bagging a cross-country title as she heads to Belgrade.

She has competed in Cross country races before but never in a World Cross-country Championship. However, Hassan has proven from time to time that she can adapt to any conditions.

She displayed her prowess during her debut in the 42km distance at the London Marathon where she won most dramatically. Sifan had admitted that she was fasting before the race and it was not all clear that she would win the race.

The 31-year-old opened her 2024 season with the Tokyo Marathon where she managed an impressive fourth-place finish and she will certainly hope to build on that heading to the Cross Country.

Owing to her fourth-place finish, Hassan explained that she had missed a bottle at the 25km mark and went back to take it, something that slowed her down.

In a post on her Instagram page, the Dutch woman said: “Marathons keep on teaching. I felt really good, the weather was great, and Tokyo is an amazing city for running.

“I missed my bottle at 25k and turned back to get it. Unfortunately, after that, I was not able to close the gap with the first group.

“However, once again, the marathon taught me valuable lessons that will help me to be stronger in the future. Arigato Japan, for your amazing hospitality and big heart for running.”