Julien Wanders and Sifan Hassan Headline Herculis 5KM

By Adam Kopet

Fresh off his European record at the RAK Half Marathon last week, Swiss athlete Julien Wanders is in position to chase another European record Sunday at the Herculis 5KM in Monaco.

The Herculis 5KM is part of the new event Monaco Run. The race will begin and finish at the Port Hercule.

The mark Wanders will be chasing is 13:26, set by Alistair Cragg, Amy Cragg's husband, which he ran at the Carlsbad 5000 in 2012.

However, Wanders will be joined by other capable Europeans. Sondre Moen of Norway, the former European record holder in the marathon, is competing, as is Francois Barrer of France. All three men hold personal bests over 5,000 meters under 13:30.

The women's field is headlined Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands. The Nike Oregon Project athlete set personal bests ranging from the mile up to the half marathon in 2018. Hassan broke European records at 5,000 meters (14:22.34) and the half marathon (1:05:15). This will be Hassan's season season opener.

Also in the women's field are Laura Weightman and Emelia Gorecka, both of Great Britain and Sara Dossena of Italy.

The women's race will start five minutes before the men and be paced by Shannon Osika. The women's race will be eligible for women's only records.

The complete elite fields for the Herculis 5KM are available from the Monaco Diamond League website.