Athletics At The 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 3000 Metres Steeplechase
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The men's 3000 metres
steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
competition at the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil was held at the
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between 15–17 August.


Summary

Continuing the country's unbeaten tradition in the Olympic steeplechase since 1968, the principal challengers to the gold medal came from the Kenyan team.
Ezekiel Kemboi Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi (born 25 May 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete, winner of the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, the 2011 World Championships, the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2013 W ...
returned to defend his 2012 Olympic title and had won almost every global final since 2003. His sole loss came at the
2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
to another member of the team
Brimin Kipruto Brimin Kipruto (born 31 July 1985) is a Kenyan professional middle distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Korkitony, Keiyo District. He holds a personal best of 7:53.64 minutes which is the ...
. The third Kenyan was
Conseslus Kipruto Conseslus Kipruto (born 8 December 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the event. At the World Athletics Championships, Kipruto won gold medals in 20 ...
, who was the 2015 World Championships runner-up and held the top three times that season, having won all of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League meets. The next highest ranked entrant at sixth was Bahrain's John Kibet Koech (himself a former Kenyan). The 2012 Olympic runner-up
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (born 15 March 1985) is a French professional middle-distance running, middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He has won medals in major international competitio ...
was also present. In the past Kemboi has sported the frohawk, but at the start line for the final, the 34-year-old man was sporting the reverse mohawk. His prince in training,
Conseslus Kipruto Conseslus Kipruto (born 8 December 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the event. At the World Athletics Championships, Kipruto won gold medals in 20 ...
has watched his act from behind in the previous
two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
as had many other men in this field. Conseslus made it clear from the gun that this was not going to be a strategic race, rushing to the lead. Returning silver medalist
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (born 15 March 1985) is a French professional middle-distance running, middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He has won medals in major international competitio ...
immediately moved to cover the lead, while
Evan Jager Evan Reese Jager (born March 8, 1989) is an American distance runner. He won the silver medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2016 Rio Olympics and a bronze at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. Jager is the current NACAC area ...
ran around the outside of the pack to join them at the front 200 metres into the race. By the first barrier, the race was already a string, rather than a pack. Over the next lap, Conseslus pressed the pace, with only Jager following. A gap opened back to the string of chasers, with Kemboi in the middle of the field. Through the next lap Jacob Araptany and
Yemane Haileselassie Yemane Haileselassie (born 21 February 1998) is an Eritrean male steeplechase runner. He is the national record holder at 8:22.52 minutes and represented his country at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He made his international debut at the 2015 IAAF W ...
trying to bridge the gap to Jager but also battling each other for the third position. 2008 gold medalist
Brimin Kipruto Brimin Kipruto (born 31 July 1985) is a Kenyan professional middle distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Korkitony, Keiyo District. He holds a personal best of 7:53.64 minutes which is the ...
moved up to join the challenge for third with Kemboi gliding along the inside to join the back of the leaders. The gap was disappearing. Suddenly at the last barrier before the end of the third lap, Araptany didn't appear to be prepared for the barrier, he just went down sliding under the barrier, his chin taking a knockout blow from the barrier with an audible crash. Following the next water jump, Jager moved past Conseslus, the pair tracked by Kemboi, Kenyan ex-pat
Hillary Bor Hillary Bor (born November 22, 1989) is a Kenyan-born American track and field athlete. He qualified for the 2016 Olympics by finishing in second place in the 3000 meters steeplechase at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field), 2 ...
and Brimin. With Jager now pushing the pace, the gap again began to form, with just Conseslus and Kemboi in the lead group. Prefaced by the 2015 Steeplechase at
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, Jager had learned he could beat the Kenyans by pushing the pace early. Here he was attempting to do just that. After another lap and a half of this, the gap grew back to fourth place Bor, with Brimin falling back and Mekhissi-Benabbad at the tail of the second group. With less than two laps to go Amor Ben Yahia in the middle of the second group fell over the barrier, leaving
Soufiane El Bakkali Soufiane El Bakkali ( ar, سفيان البقالي, born 7 January 1996) is a Moroccan male runner specializing in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion, having previously finished fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics ...
, Brimin, Bor, Mekhissi-Benabbad and Yoann Kowal the remaining string of chasers. Jager held the lead to just before the bell. Over the penultimate water jump, Kemboi moved into the marking position, but after the following barrier, Conseslus gathered himself and sprinted by both. Kemboi chased Conseslus to the barrier before the backstretch, to be in the perfect position to launch his patented surge. But the surge was not there for Kemboi, instead it was Conseslus who made the surge down the backstretch. By the final water jump, the gap was insurmountable and Conseslus knew it. He began waving to the crowd. Conseslus ran the final straight, arms outstretched celebrating his victory (as Kemboi had done before him). Behind him, Jager was not done, executing his final kick around the beaten Kemboi on the home stretch and pulling away to the silver medal. Kemboi jogged across the finish line in third. Well behind, Mekhissi-Benabbad used the same kind of final lap that had brought him to two previous silver medals to beat the group of chasers to the line in fourth. After the race was over, the French team filed a protest, claiming Kemboi had stepped off the track following the first water jump. Video was reviewed of the race and the foul was detected, causing Kemboi to be disqualified, advancing Mekhissi-Benabbad to the bronze medal. That also made Mekhissi-Benabbad and not Kemboi, the first man to win three Olympic medals in the steeplechase. This was Kenya's ninth straight and eleventh overall gold medal in the steeplechase. Jager was the first American to win a medal in the steeplechase since Brian Diemer in 1984. After dominating the event, with two Olympic gold medals, four World Championship gold medals (and three silvers before that),
Ezekiel Kemboi Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi (born 25 May 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete, winner of the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, the 2011 World Championships, the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2013 W ...
announced his retirement after the race, only to retract it and compete for one more year after realizing that he was disqualified. The medals for the competition were presented by Aïcha Garad Ali, Djibouti, member of the International Olympic Committee, and the gifts were presented by
Bernard Amsalem Bernard Amsalem (born 1951 in Saida, Algeria) is a French organizer of athletics. He was vice-president of the French Athletics Federation from 1997 to 2001, and is now the president since 2001. Amsalem was vice-president of the French Olympic ...
, Council Member of the
IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
.


Competition format

The men's 3000 m
steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
competition consists of a heats stage (three races) and a final.Men's 3000m Steeplechase - Standings
. Rio2016. Retrieved on 14 August 2016.


Schedule

All times are
Brasilia Time Time in Brazil is calculated using standard time, and the country (including its offshore islands) is divided into four standard time zones: UTC−02:00, UTC−03:00, UTC−04:00 and UTC−05:00. Time zones Fernando de Noronha time (UTC−02 ...
( UTC-3)


Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows. The following records were established during the competition:


Results


Heats


Heat 1


Heat 2


Heat 3


Final


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics - Men's 3000 metres steeplechase Men's steeplechase
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
Men's events at the 2016 Summer Olympics