Beatrice Chebet: How Sifan Hassan inspired my record-breaking 2024 season

Double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet has opened up about how Dutch woman Sifan Hassan motivated her history-making season in 2024.

Beatrice Chebet has opened up about drawing her inspiration from Sifan Hassan, a move that has enabled her to break barriers and make history this season.

The double Olympic champion pointed out that two-time Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri has also been a vital part of her career growth but Hassan has stood out for her this season. Chebet explained that Hassan, the reigning Olympic marathon champion, is never afraid of making bold moves and she is a source of motivation to the Kenyan distance sensation.

At the Paris Olympic Games, Hassan competed in the women’s 5000m, 10,000m and marathon and she claimed bronze medals in the 5000m and 10,000m and a gold in the marathon, a feat that has never been achieved in the history of the Olympic Games.

“Hellen Obiri has always been a role model to me but for now, I’ll talk about Sifan Hassan. She is a lady who believes in herself and when she says that she will go for something, then she will pursue it, be it the 1500m or the marathon. Sifan has always motivated me and she gives me the confidence that I can do it,” Chebet said.

At the Olympic Games, Chebet claimed the gold medal in the women’s 5000m and 10,000m. It was a historic feat as no woman has ever won double gold over the two distances on the Olympic stage and she was also the first woman to win gold over the 25-lap race.

She explained that going into the Olympics, she wanted to do something unique since she had yet to win a gold medal at the World Championships. Chebet added that after winning the 5000m, the toughest of the two races, she knew the 10,000m would not be difficult.

After the Olympics, Chebet still had it in her as she went on to win the Diamond League Meeting in Zurich before claiming the Diamond League trophy in Brussels.

“This season has been great, especially going to the Olympics as a debutant and winning two gold medals. I can say it was not easy but I had to remain focused and believe in myself. When I entered the 10,000m race, I just wanted to win a medal but making history motivated me to go for a gold medal,” Chebet said.

“I had been to the World Championships but never won a medal and I wanted to do something great in Paris. The 5000m was the hardest event and going into the 10,000m, I knew I could do it. After the Olympics, I had to believe in myself and since I was the Olympic champion, I knew I had to do it,” she added.

posted Tuesday September 17th
by Abigael Wafula