Flying Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan couldn't believe her own speed after running the third fastest women's mile of all time and the quickest this year at the London Diamond League meeting on Sunday. The 25-year-old former world indoor 1500 metres champion, who arrived in the Netherlands as a refugee from Ethiopia 10 years ago, surged clear of her rivals with 200m to go and crossed the finish line in 4min 14.71sec.
Only two women have run the imperial distance quicker: Russia's Svetlana Masterkova, when setting the world record of 4:12.56 in Zurich in 1996 and Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba, who clocked 4:14.30 in Rovereto, Italy, last year. Hassan's mile run was one of five leading performances in the world this year achieved on the second and final day at the London Stadium, but the Dutch runner was taken aback by her display.
"That was just so amazing," said Hassan, who broke the European 5000m record at the Diamond League meeting in Rabat on July 13 and who plans to concentrate on that distance at next month's European championships in Berlin.
"I can't believe how fast I ran," she added. "I don't normally have that last kick but today (Sunday) I did." Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay took second place in 4:16.14, with Kenya's world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri third in 4:16.15, a Commonwealth record.
Obiri's compatriot Emmanuel Korir stormed to victory in the 800m in 1:42.05sec, the fastest time in the world since fellow-Kenyan David Rudisha smashed the world record on the same track at the 2012 Olympic Games.
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