In the final event on the track on Wednesday evening, Kenneth Rooks earned a silver medal in the steeplechase in perhaps one of the biggest surprise outcomes of these Games.
Coming into the race, favorites were the reigning Olympic and World Champion Soufiane El Bakkali and event world record holder Lamecha Girma, assuming thereafter would be a contest for bronze among the Kenyan runners, a delegation which has had a podium finish in the steeplechase at every Games since 1984.
Hanging on to the pack mostly from the back as a trio of Ethiopians kept an honest pace, Rooks maintained his position until there were two and a half laps to go. At this point in the race, he connected himself to El Bakkali’s hip, who himself and hung onto Girma’s shoulder for the entirety of the race.
As they came into the bell lap, Rooks put the hammer down for the final 400 meters, taking the lead through the first turn and turned on the jets in the back straightaway. He held on to the lead through the water jump, at which point the Tokyo gold medalist El Bakkali passed by Rooks on turn four. As he pressed through the final straight, Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot began to catch up, however Rooks was able to hold him off through the finish line, earning Olympic silver in a new personal best time of 8:06.41. Morocco’s El Bakkali’s winning time was 8:06.05, making him the event’s first back-to-back Olympic champion since Finland’s Volmari Iso-Hollo in 1936.
WATCH: Soufiane El Bakkali wins gold, U.S.’s Kenneth Rooks silver in steeplechase final, via YouTube
Sadly, Lamecha Girma took a devastating fall on the final lap while attempting the back stretch hurdle. After falling hard, Girma laid motionless on the ground while medical staff rushed to his side. Overnight, his management team posted to Instagram, “After a full medical examination during the night, it has been confirmed that Lamecha Girma doesn’t suffer from any major head injury. He will undergo further scans to check his leg before being allowed to leave the hospital.”
