He started with athletics eleven years ago, but had never run a marathon until February this year.
In Spanish Sevilla, Suldan Hassan found his distance.
The 26-year-old, who previously focused on 5,000 meters, set a Swedish record with a time of 2.07.36 and qualified for the OS in Paris – despite missing drinking at six of the eight hydration stations.
Did not drink water
I'm half-blind and the tables were on the right side. You had to choose one of the different bottles when you ran at a pretty high tempo, he says.
I got it at the first two stations and thought then that it was under control, but it was the last time I saw any fluid.
In France, the long-distance runner has an eye on where the hydration is and aims to get a perfect race.
There was a lot that didn't go right then, but I hope to do it better now.
Now he's also getting help.
Injured runner Andreas Almgren, who withdrew from 5,000 meters at Stade de France this week, is one of the pacers along the track.
It seems to be in order with him, so he'll probably give me fluids, says Hassan.
"Perform"
Saturday's marathon, which stretches from central Paris to Versailles and back, will be the Swede's second.
And despite being inexperienced, he's aiming high.
I came here to perform. It may not be entirely ideal, but I can still do it well, he says.
At the same time, he knows that time is on his side, that it's not really now that he should be at his best.
Few start with marathon as early as Suldan Hassan, and often the best times come late in their careers.
I think I have at least ten years left on the distance and can develop, he says.
To get to run now, against two of the best runners of all time, Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) and Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia), feels big, and I'd like to be there and fight for placings.
