Dutch Sifan Hassan entered for four races in Paris

Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan has entered four events at the Paris Games, the marathon plus the 1,500 metres, 5,000m and 10,000m, according to entry lists published by World Athletics on Friday.

The twice Olympic gold medallist could scratch from any race before the Games kick off on July 26, and official start lists will only be available on the eve of the Olympics.

But the ambitious potential agenda has caught the eye of track fans, three years after she tackled the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 in Tokyo, winning the longer distances but settling for bronze in the 1,500.

Lethal factor

She proved a lethal factor in the marathon, winning in London and breaking the tape in Chicago in the second-fastest performance of all time in 2023. She finished a disappointing fifth in the 1,500 last week at the FBK Games but said she was undeterred.

"This sport keeps on teaching. I couldn’t show my best yesterday, but it only makes me more determined," she wrote on social media.

The Paris field includes 36 defending champions across 48 events, according to World Athletics' announcement, with world record holders including Kenya's Faith Kipyegon, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Norwegian Karsten Warholm and Swede Mondo Duplantis.

Meanwhile, Jessica Hull of Australia blazed to a world record in the women’s 2,000 metres at the Monaco Diamond League meet on Friday, making a stunning statement ahead of the Paris Olympics.

The 27-year-old clocked five minutes 19.70 seconds in the rarely-contested distance to obliterate the previous mark of 5:21.56 set by Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi in 2021. 

Hull’s first Diamond League victory comes four days after she shaved more than five seconds off her personal best in the 1,500 metres to finish second behind Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon at the Paris Diamond League.

Kipyegon clocked a world record in that race with Hull’s time being fifth fastest ever.