At the final athletics competition on Wednesday, there was a worrying moment in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.
When Kenneth Rooks of the USA launched a hard attack on the leader 350 meters from the finish, a trio consisting of Soufiane El Bakkali (Morocco), Abraham Kibiwot (Kenya) and Lamecha Girma (Ethiopia) tried to quickly close the gap.
But shortly before the 200-meter mark, Girma’s back leg hit the barrier, he fell hard to the ground and hit the back of his head on the track.
Girma, 23, appeared unresponsive in the following moments and was treated by a medical team on the course. He was strapped onto a stretcher and then taken out of the competition area.
According to the French newspaper The team, Girma was initially taken to a hospital room at the Stade de France. The outlet reports that he lost consciousness after the fall, but was responsive and able to speak a few minutes later. He was then taken to a hospital to receive further treatment.
El Bakkali won the race in 8:06.05. Rooks, who was competing in the Olympics for the first time, ran the race of his life to take the silver medal, crossing the finish line with a personal best of 8:06.41. Kibiwot followed close behind, taking the bronze medal with a time of 8:06.47.
Girma holds the world record in the steeplechase – 7:52.11, set last June – and was one of the favourites to win, along with El Bakkali. He won silver at the Tokyo Games and is also the world record holder in the 3,000 metres indoors (7:23.81).
Wednesday morning was also marked by falls on the track. Several runners fell in the 5,000 meter heats, including US medal hopeful Abdihamid Nur. Some athletes were awarded a place in the final, but Nur was not.
Theo Kahler is news editor at Runners world. He is a former all-conference college runner based in Easton, PA. He previously worked as a newsletter editor at Runners world, Ride a bikeAnd Popular mechanics.
