India’s Lalita Babar finished at an impressive 10th place in the women’s 3000m steeplechase final as the African runners dominated the event from the start at the Olympic Stadium in Rio De Janeiro. Babar had created history when she became the first ever Indian since PT Usha in 1984 to qualify for the final round of any track and field event at the Olympic Games.
The runner finished with a timing of 9:22.74 which saw her finish ahead of eight other athletes. The Indian started the event slowly among the 18 athletes who took part in the final.
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She managed to run at a consistent pace with the runners who were left behind by the African and American runners at the start. It was a race that was dominated by Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet as she won the event by over 8 seconds and also had the second fastest finish in the history of the event.
The runner completed the race with a timing of 8:59.75 which made her the gold medalist at Rio 2016 at the age of just 19. The world record belongs to Russia’s Galkina-Samitova (8:58.81).
The Indian could not give her best in the event due to a knee injury. Sources had told Sportskeeda that the Indian runner had injured herself in the knee during her heat when she had fallen at a hurdle.
This meant that the Indian could not impress like she did in her heat earlier in the mega-event. But it was a good performance from the Indian given the fact that she has never competed at the Olympic Games before.
Kenya’s Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi finished second while USA’s Emma Coburn finished third. Coburn had threatened to overtake Jepkemoi in the final 200m but the Kenyan held on to take the silver medal while Coburn settled for the bronze. The other Kenyan runner Beatrice Chepkoech only managed to finish fourth in the final.
300m Steeplechase Final – Results
| # | Country | Athlete | Time (MM:SS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahrain | Ruth Jebet | 8:59.75 |
| 2 | Kenya | Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi | 9:07.12 |
| 3 | USA | Emma Coburn | 9:07.63 |
| 4 | Kenya | Beatrice Chepkoech | 9:16.05 |
| 5 | Ethiopia | Sofia Assefa | 9:17.15 |
| 6 | Germany | Gesa Felicitas Krause | 9:18.41 |
| 7 | Australia | Madeline Heiner Hills | 9:20.38 |
| 8 | USA | Colleen Quigley | 9:21.10 |
| 9 | Australia | Genevieve Lacaze | 9:21.21 |
| 10 | India | Lalita Shivaji Babar | 9:22.74 |
