Sifan Hassan has been added to the elite field of the Sydney Marathon on August 31, race organizers announced on Thursday, which likely rules her out for world championships.
Hassan, 32, is the current Olympic marathon champion and has only raced once this year, finishing third in London Marathon in 2:19:00 in April.
The late August timing of the Sydney Marathon, which was elevated in November as the seventh major marathon, means that Hassan won’t compete at the World Track and Field Championships in Tokyo from September 13-21, according to her management.
“I’m really looking forward to racing another Major and experiencing the energy of the Sydney crowds,” Hassan said in a statement. “Australia is such a strong athletics nation, and a great marathon needs passionate and loud fans, so I’m excited. I’m also honored to be part of the Sydney Marathon’s first year as a Major.”
She put on an electrifying performance at the Paris Games last year, claiming a pair of bronze medals in the women’s 5,000m and 10,000m and pulled off a stunning win in the marathon in 2:22:55 after sprinting away from Tigst Assefa in the closing moments.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Hassan won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m and bronze in the 1,500m.
Hassan joins Eliud Kipchoge as the latest distance powerhouse notable to headline the elite field in Sydney. He also ran the London Marathon in April and finished sixth in 2:05:25.
The Sydney Marathon is gearing up to be a noticeably different race since being added to the list of six majors. In late November, organizers announced that a lottery would be implemented to help contain increased demand. The 2024 race had 25,000 participants and will now accommodate 35,000 runners in August. It launched in 2001 following the major fanfare of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which was the second time the Games were held in Australia.
