As the countdown to the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 continues, we shine a spotlight on some of the podium sweeps that have lit up past editions of the global showpiece.
This five-part series continues with a look back at Kenya’s dominance in the men’s 3000m steeplechase in Athens in 1997.
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When it comes to single-nation dominance of an athletics discipline, few countries have managed to achieve the kind of stranglehold on an event like Kenya has with the steeplechase.
Between 1968 and 2016 (and not counting the years when they boycotted the Games), Kenya won every Olympic title in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, achieving full podium sweeps in 1992 and 2004.
The east African nation has been similarly dominant at the World Championships. Kenyan athletes won the men’s steeplechase at every edition between 1991 and 2019 – apart from 2003 and 2005 when gold went to Qatar’s Saif Saaeed Shaheen, who was born and raised in Kenya.
Kenya has achieved three steeplechase podium sweeps at the World Championships, the first of which came in Athens in 1997.
That was a big year for both Kenya and Greece. Athens was a candidate city to host the 2004 Olympic Games, so local organisers naturally wanted to make a good impression with the World Championships in Athens. With crowd sizes growing from 45,000 to 70,000 throughout the championships, the event proved that Greece could generate a strong international athletics fan base.
The men’s 3000m steeplechase was poised to be an interesting battle among three Kenyans who all held the world record in that event at some point that same year. Moses Kiptanui came in with the most accolades, having won the world titles in 1991, 1993 and 1995. He had also held the world record since 1992, and in 1995 he became the first man to break the eight-minute barrier. As the defending champion and world record-holder going into the championships, and having won all of his races that season, most eyes were on him.
Wilson Boit Kipketer wins the 1997 world steeplechase title (© Getty Images)
The race got off to an aggressive start, with all competitors aiming to secure a good position at the front of the pack leading into the first water jump. Kiptanui, along with teammates Wilson Boit Kipketer and Bernard Barmasai, dictated the steady pace, while Saudi Arabia’s Saad Shaddad Al-Asmari and Morocco’s Hicham Bouaouiche remained within striking distance.
Shortly before the final lap, Al-Asmari took the lead on the inside from Kiptanui. Coming to the bell, Kiptanui regained the lead by a slight margin, and the two Kenyans and the Saud Arabian followed closely for 200 metres. The Kenyan trio then dropped Al-Asmari with half a lap to go, and Kipketer, stuck behind both Barmasai and Kiptanui, attacked the water jump with fervour and used the momentum to storm past Kiptanui and take the victory. He closed his last lap in 57.5 and finished first in 8:05.84. Kiptanui and Barmasai ended in the same time of 8:06.04, and were given second and third places respectively.
Exactly one week after the World Championships final, Kipketer broke the world record in Zurich with 7:59.08, once again beating Barmasai and Kiptanui. In the aftermath of that race, former world record-holder Kiptanui said: “When so many Kenyans start together in a race in this stadium, the only possibility is to expect a world record.”
Wilson Boit Kipketer, Bernard Barmasai and Moses Kiptanui at the 1997 World Championships (© Getty Images)
He wasn’t wrong. Just 11 days later, Barmasai enjoyed his moment in the spotlight and a place in the history books, smashing the world record in Cologne with 7:55.72. Kiptanui finished second in 7:56.16, also well inside Kipketer’s world record.
Athens would end up winning out, too. In September of that year, following a successful World Championships, the Greek capital won the bid to host the Olympics in 2004. And at those Games, Kenya would sweep the podium in the event again, this time led by Ezekiel Kemboi, who would later be coached by Kiptanui.
Hannah Borenstein for World Athletics