Kenyas unmatched Steeplechase Record | The Olympics On The Record

Posted on by Joseph Porter
Kenyas unmatched Steeplechase Record | The Olympics On The Record


In the world of Olympic
steeplechase, no country comes close to
Kenya. This 3,000 metre race may have
its origins in a dash between village steeples
in genteel England, but, since 1968, it has been utterly
dominated by the East Africans. Kenya missed the 1976 and 1980
Olympics for political reasons, but they won 21 of 30 medals
available through the ten Olympic Games, with
a clean sweep of gold medals. Perfection. Ten out of ten. It’s not merely
a domination – it’s a monopoly. And here’s something else –
it’s not like it’s all because of one or two superhuman
individuals. These ten golds have been
spread around nine different men.
The Magnificent Seven. – There’s nine.
– The Hateful Eight. Nine! Ocean’s Nine? Better. In 1968, Amos Biwott
set the ball rolling, a man whose technique was as
unorthodox as his rise to fame. He leapt the hurdles with feet
together, and soared over the water jumps as if the
shallow pool was full of crocs. But Biwott became an
inspiration, a pioneer. His young countrymen who
admired his gold medal soon set about emulating him. In 1972, in Munich, Biwott
was back, but back in sixth. The gold and silver hung around
the necks of Kipchoge Keino and Ben Jipcho, who went toe-to-toe until Keino
streaked clear at the death. In 1984, after the boycott,
Kenya came back with a bang. American Henry Marsh was the
man who was supposed to have the final kick, but Julius
Korir showed him how it was really done. The Kenyan momentum
was just getting started. Seoul, 1988. Kenya one and two. Julius Kariuki powered to
a new Olympic record. Kenyans swept the board
in Barcelona, 1992, even with world champion
Moses Kiptanui injured. In the Olympic final, Matthew
Birir tore his shoe after a collision with an
Algerian runner, but still battled back from
ninth to win gold. It then went to
Joseph Keter in 1996. And Reuben Kosgei in 2000, but
only after an almighty tussle. The Kenyans went to Greece
in 2004 and finished
one, two, three, with Ezekiel Kemboi
holding off Kipruto and Koech. It’s a sweep – gold, silver
and bronze for Kenya! Each of them checked down the
back straight that they were on for the sweep, then celebrated as one as the track lay
scattered with the defeated. Kipruto upgraded silver to gold
four years later in Beijing. But back to Ezekiel Kemboi. The man from Rift Valley
Province, an Olympic champion in Athens, was still going strong
in London 2012. At the end of a competitive,
tactical race, Kemboi became the first man to win two golds
at the Olympic steeplechase. He swapped his vest with
the second placed Frenchman, Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, but there was no doubting
Kemboi was Kenyan. Analysts have tried and usually
failed to figure out how one nation can be so good
at one discipline. They point to genetics,
national diet and a life lived at altitude. Maybe. But maybe
it’s all about passion. Kip Keino nailed it
in 1972 when he said:

83 Replies to “Kenyas unmatched Steeplechase Record | The Olympics On The Record”

  20. Kind of normal since they have to run from one waterhole to the other. It's clear that black africans have a better corporal watermanagement than european born. So what do we learn here? Humans are not all the same

    Reply

  23. All countries r conspiring against most powerful nation in world i.e. Pakistan, my country has potential to beat USA any day in medal tally at olympics

    Reply

  28. This must be the reason Europeans never intended to allow Afrikans to compete, it was not to long ago it was illegal for black men in the grate US to compete against whites.

    Reply

  29. I really like how at 2:03 the man that finished in second celebrated with silver as I think too many Olympians now only care about gold

    Reply

  44. love to my country kenya…i dont even see the need for us buiying cars..we can run many km …ahah,,watching ,,2019 in kenya…

    Reply

  46. yes the nandi tribe are good at long distance which can be traced to their genes. I LOVE MY COUNTRY KENYA

    Reply

  48. Passion. Vegetarian diet and will to escape poverty. That’s it.
    Also the pronunciation of their names had me on the floor ???

    Reply

  53. in 2004 when Kenya swept the medals, the 4th place finisher was Musa Amer Obaid from Qatar, whose name was Moses Kipkurui, former Kenyan.

    Reply

  60. I lived in Kenya I will absolutely say their diet is the healthiest diet you will ever see anywhere in the world

    Reply

  64. At 4:30. That's how it starts. You first have fun. Then you reach for the stars doing what you love. No limits. 🙂

    Reply

  65. I Love my Kenyans! My family, my uncles and even my mom and dad were athletes. My one uncle was a champion fast walker(not sure what the actual sport is called) and the other ran track and did well.

    For some reason people(fam friends) would ask if I’m running in competitions and I’d look at them weird. Lol. That Kenyan athletic thing passed right over me. And please I was almost always near last, if not last, to finish the dreaded mile runs we had to do in elementary and middle school.
    High school I finally got my junior year mile down at 9 minutes and change and that was it, lol.

    But my family and I would always watch the marathons, cheering on our Kenyans. Same with track at the Olympics.

    It really is a beautiful feeling to watch people succeed, and when they come from your birth country, a country people love to stereotype and degrade, it just makes it all the more beautiful.
    Forever Proud! ???✊?

    Reply

  66. Por favor la explicaciones don buenas pero no sé pueden ver las imágenes de quienes se está haciendo el relato,si no se ve la imagen el relato está incompleto,debe hacerse ya porque hay varios de ellos, gracias.

    Reply

  69. Ver a los corredores de Kenia siempre es un deleite… No pierdo ninguna de las carreras donde ellos corren¡ y me emociona y lo celebró como si fuera mi propio país, Mis respetos ¡¡ me encantaría ese bello país. Saludos desde Costa Rica.

    Reply

  75. Not Long distance alone! We are more dangerous in Middle Distance – just look at the history!! Look at the likes of Wilfred Kipketer who ruled for decade paid to represent Denmark in 800Ms

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  76. Remember US President Baraka Obama also never LOST – Kenyan's must always win! Its got nothing to do with altitude but our local school system of athletics… We start competing in cross country races at the age of 6 >> What do u expect? Our primary/junior schools are 1 to 5 miles far away and we have to run every morning, lunch time and evening to & from school barefooted be it rainy, mud, cold, hot etc.. The kids across the country just run through valleys & hills to school… No buses, no comfortable mummy cars!! It is just that simple people

    Reply

  77. The Kenyan and Ethiopian highlands are ofcourse a high altitude region and kids walk to school on those hilly terrains daily, not driven by buses. It affects their biology – high levels of haemoglobin, endurance and resistance – which effects the racing.

    Reply

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