Sifan Hassan beats Femke Bol in Dutch athlete of the year election

Sifan Hassan has been voted the best Dutch athlete of the year. This took place during a gala of the athletics federation in Amersfoort. The Olympic marathon champion beat Femke Bol and para-athlete Joël de Jong, the other two candidates on the shortlist.

Hassan won the election for the fourth time. The 31-year-old long-distance specialist was the first woman ever to combine the 5,000 and 10,000-meter track distances with the marathon at the Olympic Games in Paris. She won bronze in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. There was one day of rest between the latter distance and the marathon, and Hassan still managed to run to gold in the 42.195 kilometers. She defeated Ethiopian Tigist Assefa in a remarkable final sprint.

Hassan also has the chance to be voted the best athlete in the world. She is one of the five nominees in the poll.

The Ethiopian-born athlete received the most votes from the public and the professional jury in the election of the athletics association. Bol was her biggest competitor.

The Amersfoort native won a lot of medals and broke many records this year, with three Olympic medals as the highlight. At the Games in Paris, Bol led the team to gold in the 4x400 meter mixed relay with a fabulous final round. She won silver with the women's team in the 4x400-meter relay and bronze in the 400-meter hurdles and also broke the 400-meter world record (49.17). Bol ended the season with a win in the Diamond League.

For Hassan, it is the fourth time that she has been named athlete of the year. She also received the award in 2018, 2019 and 2021. The previous two years the award went to Femke Bol.

Niels Laros was the first talent to receive the Dafne Schippers Talent Award. The 19-year-old athlete from Oosterhout ran to sixth place at the Paris Olympics in the 1500 meters in a European junior record (under 20 years) of 3.29.54. The Brabander was already named European talent of the year in October and still has a chance of being elected talent of the year in the world.