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An Olympic Runner Fell During The Last Lap Of The 1,500. She Still Won The Race

Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan wins the race in the first round of women's 1,500 meter heats at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday.
Matthias Hangst
/
Getty Images
Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan wins the race in the first round of women's 1,500 meter heats at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday.

TOKYO — Dutch distance runner Sifan Hassan was entering the final lap of her 1,500-meter heat when the runner in front of her tripped, bringing Hassan crashing to the ground.

Suddenly well behind the leaders, she stood up and turned on the gas.

Eleven of the world's fastest runners stood between her and victory. With astonishing drive, she blazed by them one by one, rapidly making up ground.

On the final straightaway, Hassan surged and passed the front pack of five runners. She'd won the heat. You can watch her comeback here.

Hassan, 28, will compete in the semifinal of the 1,500 meter on Wednesday. She came to the Olympic Games aiming to make history with golds in the 1,500 meter, 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter — something no man or woman has done at a single Olympics.

Because she pulled off the unbelievable on Monday local time, she's still on track.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands and Edinah Jebitok of Kenya trip and fall during their 1,500 meter heat on Monday.
Matthias Hangst / Getty Images
/
Getty Images
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and Edinah Jebitok of Kenya trip and fall during their 1,500-meter heat on Monday.

Merrit Kennedy is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers a broad range of issues, from the latest developments out of the Middle East to science research news.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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