Less than six weeks after winning the London Marathon, Dutch star Sifan Hassan returned to the track and dispatched a strong field to take victory over 10,000m in a world lead of 29:37.80 at the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands on June 3.
Kenya’s Grace Nawowuna , at just 19 years of age, was second on her 10,000m debut with 29:47.42 – a time that puts her eighth on the world all-time list.
Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama finished third in a PB of 30:04.42.
Another Kenyan Selah Busienei finished fourth in 30:26.40, with her compatriot Betty Chelangat just behind in fifth in 30:27.94.
Both Hassan and Nawowuna exchanged leads in the slow-paced race towering the field at 2:57 per kilometer.
Hassan led Nawowuna through 7000m in 20:41.67 and 8000m in 23:43.23.
The 19-year-old Kenyan, a world cross country fourth-place finisher, led through 9000m in 26:47.08 as Hassan tucked behind her bidding to Sprint in the last lap.
The Dutch's tactics worked as she swept to the front and blasted the final 400m in 60.86 to delight the Dutch crowd and win in 29:37.80.
“My goal was to run deep, run hard. I had the marathon just six weeks ago and for me, the change was very hard so I wanted to see where I am. I did it and I’m very happy with the time," Hassan said after the race.
