Sifan Hassan, 27, has had a short but successful season.
She has managed to set a world record in one-hour running and a European record of 10,000 meters.
The idea was that she would run the World Cup in half marathon in Gdynia, Poland on Saturday, but now she has instead decided to take a short vacation before she starts preparing for the Olympics in Tokyo next summer.
- It has been a tough year, with uncertainty about whether competitions would be over or not.
It is difficult to focus and push yourself in training every day, especially when you do not know if you will be able to deliver at a competition.
The season was short, but the road to it was long, says Hassan and continues:
- Therefore, I decided to give myself some rest and focus on the next Olympics.
I want to be sure that I am in top shape both physically and mentally at the Olympics.
Most things have been canceled this season, but on Saturday, the world champion in half marathon will actually be crowned in Gdynia.
Sweden comes there with a squad of nine runners.
On the women's side, it consists of Carolina Wikström, Charlotta Fougberg, Sarah Lahti and Hanna Lindholm.
The men who run are David Nilsson, the talent Emil Millan de la Oliva, Napoleon Solomon, Adhanom Abraha and Mikael Ekvall.
Otmane Nait Hammou, who represents the international refugee team and lives in Sweden, also participates.
CLIP: Hassan broke the world record (4/9)
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Brigid Kosgei leads Sifan Hassan.
Photo: TT