Olympic marathon champion Sifan Hassan was named Dutch Sportswoman of the Year for the third time on Wednesday (18) evening.
Hassan was the only athlete to win three individual Olympic medals in Paris 2024, taking bronze medals in the 5000m and 10,000m before winning a dramatic gold medal in the marathon in an Olympic record of 2:22:55.
This was Hassan’s third Olympic gold medal of her career having previously won a 5000m/10,000m double at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“I am very happy to be here, a wonderful moment,” said Hassan after receiving the award from Paris 2024 chef de mission and ex-simmer Pieter van den Hoogenband.
Athletes have swept six of the last nine Dutch Sportswoman of the Year accolades. Aside from Hassan who also won this award in 2019 and 2021, Dafne Schippers won this award twice, in 2015 and 2017 respectively, along with Femke Bol in 2023.
Hassan becomes the first sportswoman since cyclist Marianne Vos (2008-09, 2013) to win this award on three occasions.
Hodgkinson takes British honours
Keely Hodgkinson was also crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Tuesday (17), an award which has recognised the most outstanding British sportsperson annually since 1954.
Hodgkinson retained her European outdoor 800m title in Rome in June - her fourth senior continental 800m title - before completing the set of major outdoor titles with Olympic gold in Paris 2024 where she was the only European to win an individual women's track event in the Stade de France.
In her annus mirabilis, Hodgkinson also went to sixth on the world all-time 800m list with 1:54.61 and has her sights set on breaking the world indoor 800m record of 1:55.82 in February.
Hodgkinson becomes only the fourth athlete to win the award this century after Paula Radcliffe (2002), Kelly Holmes (2004) and Mo Farah (2017).