Steeplechase at the Olympics
| 3000 metres steeplechase at the Olympic Games |
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|---|---|
| 250px
The 2012 Olympic women's 3000 m steeplechase heats
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| Overview | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1920 – 2012 Women: 2008 – 2012 |
| Olympic record | |
| Men | 8:05.51 Julius Kariuki (1988) |
| Women | 8:58.81 Gulnara Galkina (2008) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  Ezekiel Kemboi (KEN) |
| Women |  Yuliya Zaripova (RUS) |
The steeplechase at the Summer Olympics has been held over several distances and is the longest track event with obstacles held at the multi-sport event. The men's 3000 metres steeplechase has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1920. The women's event is the most recent addition to the programme, having been added at the 2008 Olympics. It is the most prestigious steeplechase track race at elite level.
The steeplechase made its first Olympic appearance at the 1900 Summer Olympics, which had men's races over two distances: one of 2500 metres and another of 4000 metres.[1][2] The 1900 Games also held two further races over the 2500 m distance, with one for professionals only and one with a special handicap system – these are no longer considered official Olympic events.[3][4] In 1904 an unusual 2590 m distance was used and this was extended to 3200 m at the 1908 edition.[5][6]
The Olympic records for the event are 8:05.51 minutes for men, set by Julius Kariuki in 1988, and 8:58.81 minutes for women, set by Gulnara Galkina in 2008. Galkina's time remains the women's world record for the event. The IAAF officially recognises men's steeplechase world records after 1954, but unofficial world records were set in 1928, 1936 and 1952.[7] Anders Gärderud's time of 8:08.2 minutes from 1972 remains the only ratified men's steeplechase world record at the Olympics.[8]
Only two athletes have won multiple Olympic steeplechase titles Volmari Iso-Hollo (1932 and 1936) and Ezekiel Kemboi (2004 and 2012). No athlete has won more than two Olympic medals in the discipline and, in its short history, no woman has reached the Olympic podium twice. Competitors in the steeplechase are normally event-specialists, although former champions Iso-Hollo, Ville Ritola and Kipchoge Keino all won Olympic titles in other distance running events.
In spite of not reaching the podium until 1968, Kenya is the most successful nation in the steeplechase. It has won every men's title since 1968, with the exceptions of 1976 and 1980, which Kenya boycotted. It had medals sweeps in 1992 and 2004. Finland is the only other nation to have achieved that feat, having done so in 1928, and is the next most successful nation with four gold medals. Russia is the most successful nation in the women's event, as it won both the 2008 and 2012 races.
Contents
Medal summary
Men
Multiple medalists
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volmari Iso-Hollo |  Finland (FIN) |
1932–1936 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Ezekiel Kemboi | Kenya (KEN) |
2004–2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Bronisław Malinowski |  Poland (POL) |
1976–1980 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Brimin Kipruto | Kenya (KEN) |
2004–2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad |  France (FRA) |
2008–2012 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Medals by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenya (KEN) |
10 | 7 | 4 | 21 |
| 2 | Finland (FIN) |
4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 |  Sweden (SWE) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Poland (POL) |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 |  United States (USA) |
1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 |  Belgium (BEL) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | France (FRA) |
0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 |  Soviet Union (URS) |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 10= |  Hungary (HUN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10= |  Tanzania (TAN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 |  Italy (ITA) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 13= |  East Germany (GDR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13= |  Ethiopia (ETH) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13= |  Germany (GER) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13= |  Morocco (MAR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13= |  Norway (NOR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 Beijing |
Gulnara Samitova-Galkina (RUS) |
Eunice Jepkorir (KEN) |
Yekaterina Volkova (RUS) |
| 2012 London |
Yuliya Zaripova (RUS) |
 Habiba Ghribi (TUN) |
Sofia Assefa (ETH) |
Medalists by country
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia (RUS) |
2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2= | Kenya (KEN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2= | Tunisia (TUN) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Ethiopia (ETH) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Other distances
2500 metres
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 Paris |
22x20px George Orton (CAN) | Sidney Robinson (GBR) |
Jacques Chastanié (FRA) |
2590 metres
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1904 St. Louis |
 James Lightbody (USA) |
John Daly (GBR) |
Arthur Newton (USA) |
3200 metres
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 London |
Arthur Russell (GBR) |
Archie Robertson (GBR) |
John Eisele (USA) |
4000 metres
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 Paris |
John Rimmer (GBR) |
Charles Bennett (GBR) |
Sidney Robinson (GBR) |
References
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's 3,000 metres Steeplechase Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Athletics Women's 3,000 metres Steeplechase Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Olympic record progressions
- Mallon, Bill (2012). TRACK & FIELD ATHLETICS - OLYMPIC RECORD PROGRESSIONS. Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2014-02-07.
- Specific
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- IAAF 3000 metres steeplechase homepage
- Official Olympics website
- Olympic athletics records from Track & Field News
- ↑ Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 2,500 metres Steeplechase. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-09.
- ↑ Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 4,000 metres Steeplechase. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-09.
- ↑ Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 2,500 metre steeplechase, Handicap. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-09.
- ↑ Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 2,500 metre steeplechase, Professionals. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-09.
- ↑ Athletics at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Games: Men's 2,590 metres Steeplechase. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-09.
- ↑ Athletics at the 1908 London Summer Games: Men's 3,200 metres Steeplechase. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-02-09.
- ↑ Men, 3000 m Steeplechase > World Records Progression. Brinkster. Retrieved on 2014-06-28.
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