New Zealand runner Geordie Beamish unleashes trademark blistering finish to beat El Bakkali to world 3000m steeplechase gold in Tokyo.

There have already been some brilliant sprint finishes in these World Championships. Jimmy Gressier and Beatrice Chebet in the 10,000m. Alphonce Sambu and Peres Jepchirchir in the marathon. But Geordie Beamish’s finishing flourish to win 3000m steeplechase gold on Monday (Sept 15) will go down as one of the best in history.

Approaching the bell the 28-year-old from New Zealand was in 11th place and seemingly out of contention. Yet he moved into eighth down the back straight. Then fourth at the final water jump and, into the home straight, he still had to get past Soufiane El Bakkali, the two-time Olympic and two-time world champion from Morocco.

Beamish didn’t take the final hurdle perfectly but once he gets into sprint finish mode he is unstoppable. Surging past El Bakkali, he stormed to a brilliantly unexpected gold. It was, as keen track fans might say, a genuine “from the depths of hell” moment.

His sprint actually has its own name, though, called “Textbook George”. We have seen it before, too. But more of that later.

In storming to victory in Tokyo, he became the first non-African-born winner of a men’s steeplechase global title since Francesco Panetta of Italy in Rome in 1987.

“This was a turn-up, wasn''t it?” he said. “That was pretty unreal. I am still taking it all in.”

Later this week Beamish is set to be part of a presentation organised by his shoe sponsor, On, about “the art of steeplechase”. Now, the room is sure to be packed when it starts.

Those who know him well are familiar with his withering sprint finish. He demonstrated it memorably in March 2024, for example, when he won the world indoor 1500m title in Glasgow.

On that occasion he was fifth coming into the final straight on a small indoor track but managed to overtake Cole Hocker and Hobbs Kessler, among others, to take the win.

So far "Textbook George" has not worked out too well in the steeplechase, though, as this was only his second victory in the event since switching from flat racing in 2023.

Such defeats include in his heat in Tokyo on Saturday, where he made headlines for being photographed with a fellow runner’s spiked shoe seemingly hitting his face after he fell. Beamish got up on that occasion and managed to qualify for Monday’s final by finishing second.

Beamish did, however, finish fifth in the last world final in Budapest two years ago. So he was hardly a no-hoper.

Like Gressier in the 10,000m final, a slow pace in the final no doubt played into his hands. The steeplechasers went through 2000m in just 6:01 – the kind of pace junior athletes are used to – with his winning time of 8:33.88 being easily the slowest in World Championships history.

“I just can’t believe how hot the crowd was," said Beamish. "Everything was hard but it all ended up well for me. It’s unreal. I’m pretty stoked. I did a lot in the last 200 metres. You just need to visualise winning before it happens – and it will happen.”

Easier said than done, his rivals might agree.

“I knew I had it in me tonight,” he added. “I only knew I’d win one metre before the finish and that was enough.

“It’s a first track gold for New Zealand at a world championships, which is pretty cool. The Olympic Games last year were brutal so to come here this year it’s just a testament to the team I have and how freaking hard this sport is. Nothing is given in this sport. Everything is earned.”

What made Beamish’s win all the more surprising was the fact he has endured a torrid time with injuries such as stress reactions since his Glasgow victory 18 months ago. Luckily, though, everything began to click for him in workouts in the last month.

El Bakkali also had a lot of work to do in the latter stages. The Moroccan was still in last place with a kilometre to go but he worked his way into contention gradually and was well placed at the bell and in the lead coming off the final bend.

He clocked 8:33.95 but was devastated and was still in tears during interviews about an hour after the race.

Edward Serem, a 17-year-old from Kenya, clocked 8:34.56 for bronze as Samuel Firewu of Ethiopia was fourth, Salaheddine Ben Yazide of Morocco fifth and Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia sixth – the latter having led down the back straight on the final lap.

El Bakkali said: “It’s very difficult for me to accept this result but I have to because this is high performance sport. I congratulated the athlete from New Zealand. I had good tactics but I clipped the last barrier and lost balance. I will work hard to regain the world title. Today was not the result I wanted, but sport wins tonight.”

One final question remains for Beamish, though. How far back dare he go before his trademark last-gasp sprint fails to work? “I’ve not found the limit yet,” he smiled.