having been running a plain 3000m in the previous stages. The standard barriers for this event are 91.4cm (36 inches) tall for men and 76.2cm (30 inches) for women. In one lap, an ath- lete clears five barriers; the fifth barrier being situated in front of a pit of water which is 3.66m long and 70cm deep closer to the barrier and sloping upwards till it meets the surface of the track. Unlike the 400m hurdles, the barriers for this event are firmly fixed such that they do not fall down when hit by an ath- lete. This is one reason why athletes who would have the tal- ent to do well in this event would prefer to go for other events because of their fear of hitting the barriers and sustaining inju- ries. At the 1968 Olympic Games, Amos Biwott of Kenya stunned the world by leaping over the entire pit of water without putting his foot on top of the barrier! From then on, Kenyans began
dominating this event in all the major world championships, most of the times scooping the top 1-2-3 positions. Qatar and Bahrain are two other nations that have also recorded some success in this event, only that most of the athletes represent- ing them are Kenyan-born. An example of this is Stephen Cherono who later changed his name and citizenship to Saif Saeed Shaheen to represent Qatar, and is now the current world record holder of the event. Although it has being dominated by Kenyan athletes, the stee- ple chase event is believed to have had its origin from the Brit- ish Isles. The women's event only began to feature in major championships as late as 2005 with Russian and Kenyan women seeming to dominate it. As the Olympic Games approaches, it is almost obvious that a Kenyan will win a gold medal in the men’s 3000m steeple chase event. The only question should perhaps be whether the Kenyan will be running for his country of birth or for a for- eign country where he would have acquired a new citizenship.
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