Bringing together Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma and Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, the men’s 3000m steeplechase was scheduled to be an exciting climax to an evening of great athletics action at the Stade De France on the 7th of July. It was one of the most awaited races of the evening, and even after the race had already started, one couldn’t wait for the 8 minutes to end! It was a stacked final.
India’s Sable took the lead soon after the gun, and Getnet Wale overtook at about 600m. However, the 2023 Asian champion’s silver medalist could not take that and moved back to the front again. Three Ethiopians then took over the front-running at the 1000m mark, which was crossed in 2:39.5.
Kenya’s Simon Koech moved to the front around the 2000m mark. With 2 laps to go, the field was still crowded, which was a testament to the depth of the talent in it. A huge pack went through the bell, and the race would be decided by a strong finish. The main contenders started moving to their vantage positions to prepare for that.
However, on the back straight, as Girma tried to clear the barrier, his leg touché the barrier, and he ended up falling, his head hitting the ground from behind. He didn’t get up again as runners ran over and past him.
El Bakalli won the race in a season’s best time of 8:06.05 to defend his Olympic title, ahead of USA’s Kenneth Rooks in 8:06.41, who became a surprise silver medalist and Kenya’s experienced steeplechaser, Abraham Kibiwot in 8:06.47.
It was hard to celebrate the newly crowned medalists as everyone’s mind suddenly shifted to Girma as he was carried out of the track on a stretcher. All they could hope for at that moment was that Girma was well.
Earlier in the day, except for a few minor incidences in the men’s 5000m heats, there was excitement great moments on the track, and great lessons as well.
The lesson from Heat 1 of the men’s 5000m that had two Kenyans in it –Krop and Kurgat- was that a 400m runner doesn’t need to be a good 5,000m runner, but a 5000m runner needs to be a good 400m runner. It was a relatively slow pace as they crossed the first 1000m in 3:06.7, led by French Jimmy Gressier.
His countryman, Hugo Hay, came to support him at the front as they crossed the 2000m mark in 6:03.5. Only eight were to make it to the final. It was turning good for a 1500m specialist, and it didn’t look that way again when Norway’s Narve Nordas took to the front after 3000m and increased the pace a little bit.
With 1200 m to go, it was still very crowded, and Hagos Gebrhiwet and Jacob Krop moved to the front. Who was going to win an 800m race among them?
The whole field took the bell! It turned into a 400m sprint race that was eventually won by Nordas, and the overcrowding caused a number of them to fall behind him. The winning time was 14:08.16, and Gebrhiwet’s time was 14:08.18.
The second heat started out slow for the first 2000m before Norway’s Jakob Ingebritsen picked up the pace. It was quite crowded, too, towards the end, but not as crowded as the first heat, and only one runner fell down in the last lap. Ingebritsen proceeded to win in 13:51.59, ahead of Binian Mehary of Ethiopia in 13:51.82.
After Winfred Yavi’s sterling performance the previous evening in the women’s 3000m steeplechase to win gold, it was Bashim’s turn to begin his campaign for another gold medal for Bahrain in the men’s High Jump. He appeared to have been a little injured, though, but his federation assured fans that he should be okay ahead of the final on Saturday.
Another interesting event on the seventh day of athletics was the men’s 200m semi-finals, in which most fans are waiting to see if Noah Lyles stands a chance to win another gold medal. He finished second to Letsile Tebogo in the second heat, which may not say much as he had also finished second in the 100m eats before winning in the final.
The penultimate track final was a thrilling 400m final in which Quincy Hall won the Olympic gold medal in a new personal best time of 43:40, leading three runners behind him to national records! Mathew Hudson-Smith won silver in 43.44, while Muzala Samukonga won the bronze medal in 43.74.
Wishing a quick recovery to Girma!