Netherland's Sifan Hassan breaks 23-year-old world record in mile
Friday’s IAAF Diamond League Meeting Herculis in Monaco offered some outstanding performances, including one world record.
Sifan Hassan set a new world record in the women’s mile, covering the distance in 4:12.33, trimming 0.23 seconds off the previous mark of 4:12.56 set by Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova.
Masterkova’s run came in 1996, and was one of the longest-held records in women’s athletics.
One of the more versatile distance runners in the world, Hassan, 26, was born in Ethiopia but left as a refugee at age 15 she arrived in the Netherlands. She now represents the country in international events.
A two-time bronze medalist at the biennial World Championships - she was third in the 1500 in 2015 and third in the 5000 in 2017 - Hassan is one of the favorites to win the 1500, or metric mile, at Worlds in Doha later this year.
Her best time in that event this season is just a half-second behind Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba, who is the world record holder.
