African women, once again, showed their prowess in the athletics category, going into the women’s 3,000 steeplechase event. The heats fielded Kenyans and Ethiopians as the majority runners. For Africa, it was a showcase of pace and undeterred energy.
Kenya led the way with their runners Beatrice Chepkoech, Hyvin Jepkemoi, and Lydia Rotich who each secured a spot in the finals.
Ethiopia also qualified for the final race, led by Etenesh Diro who was highly determined to get to the finals despite losing a shoe in a mid-race collision. She urgently tried to put it back on but eventually discarded it to save time. Amazingly, she managed well without it.
However, she finished outside the qualifying place in the seventh position. She appealed to the International Association of Athletics Federation who eventually allowed her to advance to the final.
She earned the crowd’s admiration as they cheered on for her display of tenacity.
Meanwhile, Sofia Aseffa of Ethiopia and Habiba Ghribi of Tunisia also qualified for the final 3,000 women steeplechase after finishing second and third in their respective heats.
The final race will be run on Monday with Kenya and Ethiopia as favorites.
Etenesh Diro of Ethiopia and Jepkemoi of Kenya compete in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Photo: Getty Images/Paul Gilham
