The women's 10,000 metres event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 7 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium.

[2] At the Rio Olympics, Almaz Ayana beat a nearly 23 year old world record, which many had considered suspicious, to win the gold medal.

But the triple was not to be as Hassan's famous finish in the 1500m was broken, leaving her to struggle home for bronze.

Another wild card in the race was Francine Niyonsaba, the Rio 800m silver medalist, pushed out of her favored event by the new testosterone regulations.

As usual, Hassan dropped to last place, the early leader's role conceded to those who wanted it, which just like other distance races here turned to the home Japanese runners Ririka Hironaka and Hitomi Niiya.

After 2 laps, Niiya dropped back and Tsigie Gebreselama stepped off the track, reducing the strength of the Ethiopian team.

For seven laps, they stayed in close order, Gidey, Hassan and Gezahegne each separated by barely a metre.

125 metres to go, Hassan moved forward, leaned her shoulder inward as they were approaching a pack of lapped runners (Emily Sisson, Karissa Schweizer and Eilish McColgan).

While Hassan didn't get the triple, she completed the second Women's Woolworth (5 and 10) double in the Olympics after Tirunesh Dibaba in 2008.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the period was suspended from 6 April 2020 to 30 November 2020, with the end date extended to 29 June 2021.