The

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 ...

at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

has been held over several distances and is the longest

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

event with obstacles held at the

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

. The men's

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

. The women's event is the most recent addition to the programme, having been added at the

2008 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 Nati ...

. It is the most prestigious steeplechase track race at elite level. The

Olympic records Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

for the event are 8:03.28 minutes for men, set by

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 ...

in 2016, and 8:58.81 minutes for women, set by Gulnara Galkina in 2008. 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 ...

officially recognises men's steeplechase world records after 1954, but unofficial world records were set in 1928, 1936 and 1952. Anders Gärderud's time of 8:08.2 minutes from 1976 remains the only ratified men's steeplechase world record at the Olympics. Galkina's time was also a world record. Only two athletes have won multiple Olympic steeplechase titles

Volmari Iso-Hollo Volmari "Vomma" Fritijof Iso-Hollo (5 January 1907 – 23 June 1969) was a Finnish runner. He competed at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics in the 3000 m steeplechase and 10000 m and won two gold, one silver and one bronze medals. Iso-Hollo was one of ...

(1932 and 1936) and

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 ...

(2004 and 2012). Competitors in the steeplechase are normally event-specialists, although former champions Iso-Hollo,

Ville Ritola Vilho "Ville" Eino Ritola (18 January 1896 – 24 April 1982) was a Finnish long-distance runner. Known as one of the "Flying Finns", he won five Olympic gold medals and three Olympic silver medals in the 1920s. He holds the record of winning ...

and

Kipchoge Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino (born 17 January 1940) is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a lon ...

all won Olympic medals in other distance running events. In spite of not reaching the podium until 1968,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

is the most successful nation in the steeplechase. It has won every men's title since 1968, with the exceptions of

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, which Kenya boycotted. It had medals sweeps in 1992 and 2004.

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

is the next most successful nation with four gold medals. Finland in 1928 and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in 1948 also have had medal sweeps. Kenya is also the most successful nation in the developing women's event, winning three of the nine medals awarded since women started running the event in the Olympics, plus Kenyan-born and still resident, 2016 champion

Ruth Jebet Ruth Jebet (born 17 November 1996) is a Kenyan-born long-distance runner and steeplechase specialist who competes internationally for Bahrain. She was the world record holder and was the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 3000 metres steeplechase, ...

switched allegiance to Bahrain for financial reasons. She has been banned for doping since 2018.

Format

The

made its first Olympic appearance at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

, which had men's races over two distances: one of 2500 metres and another of 4000 metres. The 1900 Games also held two further races over the 2500 m distance, with one for

professionals A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

only and one with a special handicap system – these are no longer considered official Olympic events. In 1904 an unusual 2590 m distance was used and this was extended to 3200 m at the 1908 edition. By 1920, the event was standardised at

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

with 28 barriers and 7 water jumps, the format in which it remains to this day. In 2008 the women's event was added to the programme, also over 3000 metres. The men's 3000 metres steeplechase in 1932 was actually 3460 metres, due to an error in lap counting. The bell to announce the final lap failed to ring at the correct time, and so the athletes ran an extra lap of the track.

Disqualifications

Runners in the steeplechase are required to vault over all barriers and water jumps, and failure to do so results in disqualification. The first such disqualification at the Olympics occurred in 1908 when British athlete Thomas Downing was disqualified for incorrectly passing around the first water jump. As in other track events, runners are not permitted to cut inside the inner track limits as this would shorten the race distance, and any athletes who do so are disqualified. The most notable occasion of this took place at the men's 2016 event, when 2-time Olympic gold medallist

was disqualified for this infringement after finishing third. This promoted French athlete

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 ...

into third place, and thus made Mekhissi-Benabbad the first athlete to win three Olympic medals in the steeplechase, instead of Kemboi.

Doping

All athletes who participate in Olympic events must adhere to the

World Anti-Doping Code The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

. Since the women's event began in 2008, there have been multiple incidents of doping violations leading to retroactive disqualification. In 2016, doping samples from the 2008 games were found and re-tested. Third place finisher Yekaterina Volkova's sample was found to contain traces of prohibited substances and she was disqualified, promoting fellow Russian Tatyana Petrova into the bronze medal position. First place finisher in the 2012 women's steeplechase,

Yuliya Zaripova Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova ( rus, Юлия Михайловна Зарипова, née Ivanova ( rus, Иванова), divorced Zarudneva ( rus, Заруднева); born 26 April 1986 in Svetly Yar, Volgograd Oblast) is a Russian former middl ...

of Russia, was found in 2016 to have taken banned substances and her results in athletic events from 20 July 2011 to 25 July 2013 were erased. This promoted Tunisian

Habiba Ghribi Habiba Ghribi () (born 9 April 1984) is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman. Sh ...

to first place, and

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

Vice-President

Nawal El Moutawakel Nawal El Moutawakel (Amazigh: ⵏⴰⵡⴰⵍ ⵍⵎⵓⵜⴰⵡⴰⵇⵇⵉⵍ ; ar, نوال المتوكل; born 15 April 1962) is a Moroccan former hurdler, who won the inaugural women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1984 Summer Olympics, ...

awarded her with an Olympic gold medal in a special ceremony on 4 June 2016. Spanish athlete

Marta Domínguez Marta Domínguez Azpeleta (born 3 November 1975) is a Spanish former runner and politician. She competes mainly in the steeplechase. She has represented Spain four times at the Olympics and has competed at the World Championships on six occasio ...

was also found to be guilty of doping violations, and was disqualified from her 12th place finish at the same event.

Medal summary

Men

Multiple medalists

Medals by country

Women

Medalists by country

Other distances

2500 metres

2590 metres

3200 metres

4000 metres

References

;Participation and athlete data
Athletics Men's 3,000 metres Steeplechase Medalists
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.

Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07. ;Olympic record progressions *Mallon, Bill (2012)
TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS
''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

''. Retrieved on 2014-02-07. ;Specific

External links

IAAF 3000 metres steeplechase homepageOfficial Olympics websiteOlympic athletics records
from ''Track & Field News'' {{History of Olympic athletics events

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

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 ...