Paris Olympic gold medalist Sifan Hassan and Paris Olympic Trials marathon winner Fiona O’Keeffe will each miss a second consecutive major marathon — the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1.
The Netherlands’ Hassan posted that a sickness slowed down her training.
“Im not where I wanted to be,” the post read. “Sometimes, things just don’t go as planned.”
Hassan also withdrew before last April’s London Marathon due to an Achilles injury. She placed sixth in her New York City debut last November, her most recent marathon.
O’Keeffe is sidelined after left hamstring surgery last week.
“Guess you could say I’m a bit hamstrung at the moment…" was posted on her social media. “Went to the Steadman Clinic in Vail last week for a proximal hamstring repair surgery. An MRI at the end of September showed that the old partial tear I got leading into Boston had turned into a fully retracted tendon tear on the left side, so surgery was the next logical step. I’m grateful to all the medical professionals and my team for helping me access the best care. It’s going to be a long road back, but I’m looking forward to the small milestones along the way. Thanks to all my family & friends who have been in my corner all this time.”
O’Keeffe, 28, previously missed the Boston Marathon in April.
She has finished one marathon since winning her 26.2-mile debut at the February 2024 Olympic Trials.
O’Keeffe placed fourth in the 2025 New York City Marathon in 2:22:49, the fastest time ever for an American woman in the five-borough race.
The 2026 New York City Marathon women’s field is headlined by defending champion Hellen Obiri of Kenya. Plus Jess McClain, who was the fastest U.S. female marathoner of this Olympic cycle until this past Sunday, when Emma Grace Hurley ran 2:20:47, which also broke O’Keeffe’s record for fastest marathon debut by an American woman.
