3000 metres steeplechase world record progression

Former women's record holder Gulnara Samitova-Galkina improved the mark three times.

The official world records in the 3000 metres steeplechase are held by Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia at 7:52.11 minutes for men and Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya at 8:44.32 for women.

Although the event had been run for decades and was first contested at the 1920 Olympics, the event was not standardized until 1954, with a requirement for athletes to jump a total of 28 barriers of height 91.1 cm to 91.7 cm, and width 3.66 m (4 hurdle barriers per lap), and jump seven water barriers 3.66 m long and wide with a 91 cm hurdle (1 water barrier per lap). The first 3000 m steeplechase world record to be ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was a run of 8:49.6 minutes by Hungarian Sándor Rozsnyói in 1954.[1]

Before standardization, Sweden's Josef Ternström was the first to complete the event in under ten minutes with his time of 9:49.8 minutes in 1914. When he did it, one of the barriers included a stone wall, and the 500-metre course was a figure-eight.[2] Another Swede, Erik Elmsäter, was the first to dip under nine minutes, in 1944.[3] The first person to run the steeplechase in under eight minutes was Moses Kiptanui of Kenya, who ran it in 7:59.18 on 16 August 1995, in Zürich, Switzerland.

The women's 3000 m steeplechase was recognized as an official world record event as of January 1, 2000, recognizing Yelena Motalova's time of 9:48.88 from 1999 as the inaugural record.[2] It was first contested at a World Championships in Athletics in 2005 and made its Olympic debut in 2008. The first sub-10 minute steeplechase was achieved by Romania's Daniela Petrescu in 1998 with a time of 9:55.28 minutes, but this was before the event was recognized by the IAAF.[4] The first sub-nine minute steeplechase for women was by Gulnara Galkina of Russia in 2008 with a clocking of 8:58.81.[2]

On 16 August 2002, Brahim Boulami of Morocco ran 7:53.17 but the performance was not ratified as a record as Boulami tested positive for EPO, a banned substance.[5]

  1. ^ "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 554. Archived from the original (pdf) on June 29, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Hymans, Richard; Matrahazi, Imre. "IAAF World Records Progression" (pdf) (2015 ed.). International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  3. ^ Main > Men, 3000 m Steeplechase > World Records Progression Archived 2014-01-21 at the Wayback Machine. Brinkster Track and Field. Retrieved on 2014-01-18.
  4. ^ 3000h World records Archived 2012-01-06 at the Wayback Machine. Apulanta. Retrieved on 2014-01-18.
  5. ^ Boulami banned after IAAF's appeal Archived 2014-02-03 at the Wayback Machine. CNN (2013-11-19). Retrieved on 2014-01-18.