Morroco's Soufiane El Bakkali makes history winning men's 3,000m steeplechase gold
Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali broke Kenya’s grip on the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Olympics, winning the gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
Athletics
El Bakkali became the first non-Kenyan to win the Olympic gold event since Poland's Bronisław Malinowski won the title in Moscow in 1980.
The 25-year-old made his move at the final water jump, moving past the Ethiopian duo of Lamecha Girma and Getnet Wale to claim the title in a time of eight minutes, 08.90 seconds (8:08.90). Girma finished second with a time of 8:10.38, with Kenya's Benjamin Kigen rounding off the podium in third with 8:11.45.
The 3,000m steeplechase has been Kenya's domain since 1968, where they have won the gold medal in every Olympics but Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980, which they boycotted.
El Bakkali came into the Games as one of the favourites for a historic run in the absence of Kenya's defending champion Conseslus Kipruto. El Bakkali has demonstrated his pedigree finishing second behind Kipruto at the London World Championships in 2017 and winning bronze at the Doha showpiece two years later.
"I am so used to seeing Kenyans win, it's a big accomplishment for me. I have been aiming for this for years and this was my opportunity to show that Morocco is capable of winning this prize in front of the Kenyans," El Bakkali said.
"It was not easy for me to be in front of the Kenyans and Ethiopians. I know how hard it is to be first in front of them.
"I have been thinking about being more confident, working on my self-confidence and also trusting that I can win. I have tried so many times to compare myself with the Kenyans and Ethiopians to see whether I could reach this gold, and I did."