Taking the lead for the first time over the final water jump, Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco won the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final in 8:08.90 on August 2 at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, the fastest in the world this year, placed second in 8:10.38, and Benjamin Kigen of Kenya took the bronze medal in 8:11.45. Benard Keter, the sole American in the field, placed 11th in 8:22.12.After a slow opening kilometer of 2:50, Girma and his Ethiopian teammate Getnet Wale controlled the pace from the front. They increased the pace slightly over the second kilometer, covered in 2:45, but made no bold moves in the oppressive humidity.
Girma had no response to El Bakkali’s surge out of the water pit, and the Moroccan slightly increased his lead without having to strain over the final 100 meters. Wale stumbled just before the final water jump, allowing Kigen to move into the final medal position. Wale finished fourth in 8:14.97.El Bakkali’s win marks the first time since the 1980 Olympics that someone other than a Kenyan is the Olympic champion. The Kenyan gold-medal streak dated to 1968 if you don’t count the 1976 and 1980 Olympics, both of which Kenya boycotted.
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