Winfred Yavi wins epic steeplechase battle
Winfred Yavi smashed the Olympic record as she took women’s 3000m steeplechase gold on Tuesday night (August 6). Bahrain’s world champion won the fight for the line with reigning Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai in a time of 8:52.76, edging out the Ugandan’s national record of 8:53.34. Bronze went to the 20-year-old Kenyan Faith Cherotich in a PB of 8:55.15.
In a race of the highest quality, Frenchwoman Alice Finot was roared to fourth place, the Stade de France crowd helping her surge to a European record of 8:58.67. It is the first time the top four have taken less than nine minutes in the same race, while the top 10 finishers all went quicker than 9:10.
Those included Elizabeth Bird, who broke the British record with a brilliant run of 9:04.35 in seventh.
It was Beatrice Chepkoech, Kenya’s world record-holder, who made the early running and she was at the head of a group that also contained Chemutai, Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia, Cherotich and Yavi with four laps to go.
With three laps remaining, Chemutai took the lead and was still there as the field reached the bell, with Chepkoech and Yavi on her shoulder. The Kenyan could not stay in the fight and it came down to a two-way fight between Chemutai and Yavi, a battle that was won by the former.
Almayew ultimately finished fifth in 9:00.83, with Chepkoech sixth in 9:04.24.
“This is a dream come true,” said Yavi after clocking the fourth-fastest time ever. “It has been such a hard journey to get to this point.”
“In the final I was expecting something good. I just felt good about the race. I believed in myself, that I had that finishing speed.”
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