Hassan has been chasing challenges her whole life. At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, she fell during the women’s 1,500-meter race and yet went on to qualify for the semi-finals. She was almost hit by a motorbike while grabbing water at the 2023 London Marathon but went on to win gold at her first competitive marathon ever. The Olympic Games Paris 2024 was no exception. Hassan set the extremely ambitious goal of competing in three consecutive long-distance races over the span of one week.

▲ Sifan Hassan of Team Netherlands competes in the women’s marathon. (Photo by Michael Steele / Getty Images)

Samsung Newsroom caught up with Hassan shortly after her epic performance in Paris to learn more about her Olympic experience and find out what drives her.

▲ Sifan Hassan

Q. Competing in three long-distance events at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 was an ambitious choice — but ambition seems to be your trademark. What motivates you to take on these seemingly impossible challenges?

I’m a curious person, and I get bored with routines. Training for something I had already done in Tokyo felt repetitive. I wanted to try something new that no one else or only a few others had done before. It seemed hard, but I wanted to see just how hard it was. That’s what motivated me!

Q. How did you start preparing to compete in all three events? Did you develop a unique strategy to tackle each one?

I always try to be a complete athlete and train for different distances. The marathon was probably the most important event to me at the Olympic Games, so I focused a lot on it. But I gave the other distances the same dedication to be ready for anything.

Q. How did technology support your journey to the Olympic Games Paris 2024? Were there any specific tools or devices that made a difference in your training or performance?

I am often away from my family and friends for altitude training and races, so being able to video call them when I want using my Galaxy S24 Ultra is crucial. I also own a Galaxy wearable device connected my smartphone which is so lightweight that I forget I have it on when running. The device shares insights to help me know and listen to my body better — especially when it comes to sleep, an essential part of my training.

Q. You took the lead in the final sprint and set a new Olympic Games record. How did you feel?

To be honest, it felt like a firework went off in my head. I stayed focused all the way to the finish line, even up to the last 10 meters, because I was afraid of falling. In a marathon, you never know what can happen. It was just pure happiness when I crossed the finish line.

Q. You competed in the marathon just 35 hours after winning the bronze medal in the 10,000–meter race. How did you manage to rest and recover in such a short amount of time?

I knew sleep and nutrition were going to be key from the start — not just in between the 10,000-meter race and the marathon but throughout the entire Olympic Games. I tried to stay away from any distractions and got as much sleep as possible!

▲ (From left) Silver medalist Beatrice Chebet of Team Kenya, gold medalist Faith Kipyegon of Team Kenya and bronze medalist Sifan Hassan of Team Netherlands pose for a Victory Selfie after the women’s 5,000-meter final. (Photo by Andy Astfalck / BSR Agency / Getty Images)

Q. It was the first time the women’s marathon medal ceremony was held at the closing ceremony. How did that feel?

To think that millions of people were watching felt very special. It was nice to have my fellow Dutch athletes right next to me on the course, cheering me on.

Q. In the Voices of Galaxy video, you mentioned the importance of maintaining a strong mindset as an Olympic athlete. What are some ways you stay focused and positive?

I always try to be grateful for everything I’ve accomplished. Before the Olympic Games, I was already thankful just to have qualified for different events and to be able to compete. You can’t take everything for granted and simply move on from achievements you’ve worked hard for. It’s important to recognize how far you’ve come and appreciate the progress.

▲ Sifan Hassan of Team Netherlands celebrates after winning the women’s marathon. (Photo by Cameron Spencer / Getty Images)

Q. You completed the marathon at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds. While this is an incredibly fast time, running for that long still requires immense mental endurance. What went through your mind during the run?

Racing is the most exciting part! I just focused on staying with the lead pack for as long as possible.

Q. Do you have a message for your fellow Team Samsung Galaxy members who are competing at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024?

I am so inspired by the athletes. They know better than anyone else that the human mind is unbelievably powerful. I wish them the best!

Q. What challenge are you taking on next?

It’s a tough question to answer. The Olympic Games are obviously the highest point in our sport, so this was the big goal. I plan to take some time to appreciate everything I’ve done to get here and carefully think of next steps as I return to training!

Q. What’s your message to the next generation who looks up to you and is inspired by your achievements and drive?

Sports are so important. They make you healthier, help you live longer and encourage you to set goals in all areas of your life. Please exercise and try to inspire the people around you to do the same!

Samsung Electronics, a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Smartphone Partner, hosted an event with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 31 in Paris to launch and promote a new digital community for people including the Olympic and Paralympic Games fans called “Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People.”

The event was held at SPOT24, a multi-use exhibition space in Paris dedicated to Paris 2024, and was attended by IOC President Thomas Bach, MD of the IOC’s Television & Marketing Services Anne-Sophie Voumard, Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons, President and Head of Global Marketing Office at Samsung Electronics YH Lee, President of Samsung Electronics Europe Office Il-kyung Sung and Luc Abalo, a former gold-medal-winning French handball player and accomplished visual artist and participant in the Olympian Artists programme led by the Olympic Museum for Paris 2024.

A former Team Korea volleyball player, Yeon Koung Kim, Team GB Skateboarder Andy Macdonald, Australian Para-athlete Madison de Rozario and UK contents creator and The Rapping Science Teacher, Matt Green are going to take part in this project as global ambassadors and will actively share content for Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People via social media.

The “Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People” project was developed by Samsung and the IOC to help Olympic and Paralympic fans around the world experience and engage with the Olympic Movement. The programme is especially focused on younger generations, with the new community designed around the goal of helping youth participants “solve, move and create in the spirit of the Olympic values.”

“Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People” introduces three new community-oriented initiatives. Solve Challenge integrates sport and Olympism with Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow programme, a youth-focused social contribution programme that empowers young people to design innovative solutions using sport and tech to address key social challenges aligned with the priorities of the IOC’s Olympism365. Move Challenge encourages fans of the Games around the globe to get up and walk more using Samsung’s smart mobile phone. Create Challenge lets participants get creative in an innovative digital artists’ community through Samsung’s smart device and S pen.

At the launch event, 10 teams that excelled in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow programme were announced as “Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People” ambassadors. Throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the ambassadors will showcase the solutions they’ve created to address social challenges and work to engage Olympic fans around the world. They will also collaborate with the IOC Young Leader — as well as diverse initiatives fostered by the IOC — to address solutions including the promotion of sustainable development.

During the “Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People” event, the ambassadors shared their Solve for Tomorrow projects designed to address real-world problems. A variety of innovative solutions were presented, ranging from help for people to overcome visual disabilities to new ways to promote worker safety.

“Samsung India is proud of the achievements of Shankar of Team Sputnik Brain, the winners of Solve for Tomorrow, 2022, and wishes him growth and success. We see tremendous potential in his solution to alleviate stress and improve healthcare substantially. We are also proud of the ‘Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People’ programme that provided the youth with an opportunity to participate in and experience the Olympics values.” said SP Chun, Corporate Vice President, Samsung Southwest Asia.

“Samsung Solve for Tomorrow provides an incredible opportunity for youth to effect positive change though innovative solutions,” said Shankar Srinivasan, from Team Sputnik Brain that represented India as a global ambassador for the ‘Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People’ campaign. Shankar, who developed a non-invasive wearable device that aims to reduce stress, addresses the global need for chemical-free stress relief solutions, wants to improve mental healthcare in the future. “I am overwhelmed and feel honoured to represent my country India at such a prestigious global platform where I presented my innovation and vision to help build a brighter future for our planet”, he added.

“I am impressed by the opportunities that Samsung Solve for Tomorrow has given to hundreds of thousands of young people to develop as future leaders,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “They will be our innovators of tomorrow, and I look forward to seeing them tackle various challenges facing our world. We’re pleased to join with our Worldwide Partner Samsung to continue to work together to identify and support talented young people at the intersection of sport and technology through the “Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People” initiative.”

For more information about “Together for Tomorrow, Enabling People”, please visit https://olympics.com/togetherfortomorrow

Not anymore. In the spirit of a ‘Games Wide Open’ at Paris 2024, Samsung is helping athletes create and share new, more personal memories of the celebration atop the podium with the Victory Selfie powered by Galaxy.

In an Olympic Games first, medalists at Paris 2024 have been documenting their ceremonies from their own perspective as they were handed the Galaxy Z Flip6 Olympic Edition on the podium to take their Victory Selfie after receiving their Olympic medals. The selfies have been uploaded automatically and wirelessly to the Athlete365 portal so athletes can share their moments on a whole new level — perfectly aligning with Samsung’s belief that ‘Open always wins’ and that openness creates new perspectives and infinite possibilities.

“To be able to share to share the moment of achieving my dream of winning a medal with my fans, family and friends around the world — through my own perspective — was incredible,” said Team Samsung Galaxy member Rayssa Leal (Skateboarding, Brazil). “It not only amplified a moment I’ll never forget but also celebrated the camaraderie beyond the competition as my fellow medalists and I took the Victory Selfie together on the podium.”

Samsung Newsroom picked some of the best shots from the Paris 2024 medal ceremonies below. The new Victory Selfie program will continue throughout the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

▲ (From left) Silver medalist Liz Akama and gold medalist Coco Yoshizawa of Team Japan and bronze medalist and Team Samsung Galaxy member Rayssa Leal of Team Brazil pose for their Victory Selfie after the women’s street skateboarding competition. (Photo by Samsung / Getty Images)

▲ (From left) Silver medalists Jihyeon Keum and Hajun Park of Team Republic of Korea, gold medalists Yuting Huang and Lihao Sheng of Team People’s Republic of China and bronze medalists Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev of Team Kazakhstan pose for the first-ever Victory Selfie after the 10m air rifle mixed team shooting competition. (Photo by Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

▲ (From left) Silver medalists Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook of Team USA, gold medalists Yani Chang and Yiwen Chen of Team People’s Republic of China and bronze medalists Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen of Team Great Britain pose for their Victory Selfie with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 Olympic Edition after the women’s synchronized 3m springboard diving competition. (Photo by Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

▲ (From left) Silver medalist Anna Henderson of Team Great Britain, gold medalist Grace Brown of Team Australia and bronze medalist Chloe Dygert of Team USA pose for their Victory Selfie after the women’s individual time trial road cycling competition. (Photo by Tim de Waele / Getty Images)

▲ (From left) Silver medalist Filippo Ganna of Team Italy and gold medalist Remco Evenepoel and bronze medalist Wout van Aert from Team Belgium pose for their Victory Selfie after the men’s individual time trial road cycling competition. (Photo by Jan Woitas / Getty Images)

 

▲ (From left) Silver medalist Elijah Winnington of Team Australia, gold medalist Lukas Märtens of Team Germany and bronze medalist Woomin Kim of Team Republic of Korea pose for their Victory Selfie after the men’s 400m freestyle swimming competition. (Photo by Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

▲ (From left) Silver medalist Fares Ferjani of Team Tunisia, gold medalist Sanguk Oh of Team Republic of Korea and bronze medalist Luigi Samele of Team Italy pose for their Victory Selfie after the men’s sabre individual fencing competition. (Photo by Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

▲ (From left) Silver medalist Baasankhuu Bavuudorj of Team Mongolia, gold medalist Natsumi Tsunoda of Team Japan and bronze medalists Shirine Boukli of Team France and Tara Babulfath of Team Sweden pose for their Victory Selfie after the women -48 kg judo competition. (Photo by Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

▲ (From left) Silver medalist Yeji Kim and gold medalist Ye Jin Oh of Team Republic of Korea and bronze medalist Manu Bhaker of Team India pose for their Victory Selfie after the women’s 10m air pistol shooting competition. (Photo by Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Sifan’s courage, perseverance and passion have allowed her to achieve a remarkable series of unprecedented feats. At Tokyo 2020, she became the first and only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000-meter competitions at a single Games — claiming gold in the latter two events.

Throughout her career, Sifan has stayed open to participating in different running events and learning new ways to keep competing at the highest level. The Olympic champion is now setting her sights on making more history at Paris 2024, aiming to inspire hopefuls around the world to run toward their dreams. After all, Sifan knows that anything is possible when challenges are chased with an open mind and determination.

Sunny’s openness to change helped make her dream a reality. As risky as it may have been, she followed her passion, opened herself to new possibilities and didn’t let anything stand in her way. Breaking is a sport built on self-expression, creativity and community. And it defies limits and expectations, just like Sunny.

On the Road to Paris 2024, as she gets set to represent Team USA at the first-ever Olympic breaking competition in Paris, Sunny is staying open to every possibility, bringing joy to the sport and her journey, and working to inspire others to break limits for themselves.

With less than 100 days to go until Paris 2024, Samsung Electronics, a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, officially kicked-off its ‘Open always wins’ campaign — which celebrates the brand’s shared values of openness with the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games — and announced the grand opening of its Olympic rendezvous @ Samsung | Champs-Elysees 125 showcase.

As announced in January, Samsung’s ‘Open always wins’ message articulates the brand’s belief that openness enables new perspectives and infinite possibilities and will serve as the heart of its Paris 2024 programming. The new campaign, which debuted today, brings ‘Open always wins’ to life through the stories of Team Samsung Galaxy skateboarder Aurélien Giraud (France), Para sprinter Johannes Floors (Germany) and breakdancer Sarah Bee (France) and demonstrates how being open enables you to do extraordinary things.

“As a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, Samsung has been driving innovation and delivering cutting-edge technology and experiences at the Games for nearly 40 years,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “The way we enjoy the Games has evolved dramatically over time, with technology playing a critical role in bringing the Olympic spirit to life. This is even more true as we embark on a ‘Games wide open,’ and we are excited to bring Olympic fans and athletes closer than ever by opening up new experiences and meaningful connections at Paris 2024 with our ‘Open always wins’ campaign.”

Samsung also unveiled a brand new showcase, Olympic rendezvous @ Samsung | Champs-Elysees 125, which will take Olympic and Paralympic Games fans on an epic journey to Paris 2024 through iconic experiences. They will get to relive the biggest highlights of Games past with Galaxy, and explore Samsung’s latest innovations and create lifelong memories with Galaxy AI.

In creating this showcase, Samsung collaborated with the visionary Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel whose groundbreaking work mirrors the remarkable spirit of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, constantly pushing boundaries and redefining possibilities. Inspired by Parisian Salons from the Age of Enlightenment, the space is designed to celebrate openness to new perspectives and possibilities through reflections and optical illusions that evoke feelings of openness, harmony and connection.

“The entire space is designed to celebrate Samsung’s commitment to openness,” said Jean Nouvel. “The abstract graphic façade captures the reflections of movements and lights that appear and disappear in an instant, while the matte, reflective white mirrors in the lobby invite discovery of latest innovations.”

The Olympic rendezvous @ Samsung | Champs-Elysees 125 was inaugurated with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by TM Roh, Team Samsung Galaxy ambassadors including French surfer Joanne Defay, UK breakdancer Karam Singh and French Para-swimmer Ugo Didier; Anne-Sophie Voumard, Television and Marketing Services Managing Director for the IOC, Pierre Rabadan, Deputy Mayor in charge of Sport, Olympic and Paralympic Games for the City of Paris and Étienne Thobois, Director General of the Paris Organizing Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“We’re excited to see our shared values celebrated for these ‘Games wide open’ at this Olympic rendezvous @ Samsung,” said Anne-Sophie Voumard, Managing Director, IOC Television and Marketing Services. “Samsung has played a huge part in elevating the Olympic Games’ fan experience through their innovative technology over the decades, and we’re impressed to see them take it to the next level with this showcase as well as through many ways they will support staging of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games here in Paris.”

The Olympic rendezvous @ Samsung, located at 125 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, will open its doors to the public on May 3 and run until October 31, from 10:00am-20:00pm Monday-Saturday and 11:00am-20:00pm on Sundays. It will host a series of special events over the course of the summer and will be open to anyone who wants to immerse themselves in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

In addition to the showcase located at Champs-Élysées, Samsung will open up additional Olympic rendezvous @ Samsung spaces around the city of lights and its surroundings, including the Olympic Park, the Olympic & Paralympic Village and the Main Press Centre, as well as Samsung Galaxy Charging Stations at key Olympic and Paralympic Games venues, where visitors will get to experience the latest Galaxy innovations.

Check out Samsung’s “Open always wins” campaign on Samsung’s YouTube channel:

About Samsung’s Involvement in the Olympic Games
Samsung has been a Worldwide Olympic Partner since the Olympic Winter Games Nagano 1998. For over 25 years, athletes and fans have trusted Samsung’s transformative mobile technology to share the Olympic spirit globally and continue to shape the digital future of the Olympic Games for Paris 2024 and beyond. The company’s commitment to the Olympic Movement soon faces its fourth decade of partnership and extends through Los Angeles 2028. Samsung’s purposeful innovations in the wireless communications and computing equipment category, including equipment that features artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and 5G will change the way the world experiences the Olympic Games.

About Samsung’s Involvement in the Paralympic Games
Samsung is a Worldwide Partner of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in the wireless communications and computing equipment category. Starting from Paralympic Winter Games Torino 2006, the company has proudly supported the Paralympic Movement and enabled athletes and fans around the world to share the excitement and inspiration of the Games through Samsung’s transformative mobile technology. Samsung’s commitment to the Paralympic Games will extend through to Los Angeles 2028 and be celebrated through innovative mobile and computing experiences powered by purposeful innovations in the wireless communications and computing equipment category, including equipment that features artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and 5G.