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| Born | 15 September 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Papua New Guinea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | 3000 metres steeplechase | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sapolai Yao (born 15 September 1982) is a Papua New Guinean long-distance runner. [1] He competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2015 World Championships in China without reaching the final.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Papua New Guinea | |||||
| 1999 | Oceania Youth Championships | Santa Rita, Guam | 4th | 1500 m | 4:20.30 |
| 2nd | 3000 m | 9:28.67 | |||
| 2001 | Pacific Mini Games | Middlegate, Norfolk Island | 2nd | 5000 m | 15:54.71 |
| 2003 | Melanesian Championships | Lae, Papua New Guinea | 1st | 1500 m | 4:04.8 |
| 3rd | 5000 m | 15:49.2 | |||
| 2005 | Melanesian Championships | Lae, Papua New Guinea | 1st | 5000 m | 16:00.29 |
| 1st | 10,000 m | 34:25.10 | |||
| 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:50.5 | |||
| Pacific Mini Games | Koror, Palau | 1st | 5000 m | 15:59.72 | |
| 1st | 10,000 m | 33:49.40 | |||
| 2006 | Commonwealth Games | Melbourne, Australia | 19th | 5000 m | 15:29.80 |
| 13th | 3000 m s'chase | 9:40.79 | |||
| Oceania Championships | Apia, Samoa | 2nd | Half marathon | 1:14:48 | |
| 2nd | 3000 m s'chase | 9:49.56 | |||
| 2007 | Melanesian Championships | Cairns, Australia | 2nd | 1500 m | 4:05.25 |
| 1st | 5000 m | 15:46.95 | |||
| 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:43.07 | |||
| Pacific Games | Apia, Samoa | 3rd | 5000 m | 15:45.09 | |
| 2nd | 10,000 m | 34:06.22 | |||
| 2nd | Half marathon | 1:13:49.5 | |||
| 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:41.48 | |||
| 2010 | Oceania Championships | Cairns, Australia | 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 10:00.07 |
| Commonwealth Games | Delhi, India | 21st | 5000 m | 16:21.88 | |
| – | 3000 m s'chase | DQ | |||
| 2011 | Pacific Games | Nouméa, New Caledonia | 2nd | 3000 m s'chase | 9:53.33 |
| 2013 | Oceania Championships | Papeete, French Polynesia | 3rd | 5000 m | 15:43.03 |
| 3rd | 10,000 m | 33:44.20 | |||
| 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:49.67 | |||
| Pacific Mini Games | Mata-Utu, Wallis and Futuna | 2nd | Half marathon | 1:17:33 | |
| 2nd | 3000 m s'chase | 9:57.35 | |||
| 2015 | Oceania Championships | Cairns, Australia | 2nd | 5000 m | 15:44.47 |
| 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:39.74 | |||
| Pacific Games | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 9:38.89 | |
| World Championships | Beijing, China | 38th (h) | 3000 m s'chase | 9:51.09 | |
Saif Saaeed Shaheen, formerly Stephen Cherono, is a steeplechase runner. He was born in Keiyo, Kenya but now he represents Qatar. He was, for 19 years, the world record holder for 3000 metre steeplechase. He is a two time World Champion in the event. His older brother Abraham Cherono is also a steeplechase runner.
Wioletta Frankiewicz is a Polish runner. She competes in the 1500 metres, but she competes also in the 3000 metre steeplechase event, as she did in the 10th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland. She weighs 58 kilograms and is 1.77 metres tall. She won National Indoor Championships in 2003. She also won the National outdoor championships in 2004 and in 2005.
Brimin Kipruto is a Kenyan professional middle distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Korkitony, Keiyo District. He holds a personal best of 7:53.64 minutes which is the second fastest time ever run, and the African Record. His personal best is only 0.01 of a second behind the world record of former county mate Saif Saaeed Shaheen, who switched national affiliation to Qatar after growing up as Stephen Cherono in the Keiyo District.
The steeplechase is an obstacle race in athletics which derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing. The foremost version of the event is the 3000 metres steeplechase. The 2000 metres steeplechase is the next most common distance. In youth athletics a distance of 1000 metres is occasionally used for steeplechase races.
The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the horse racing steeplechase.
Paul Kipsiele Koech is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He won the 2004 Olympic bronze medal in this event. His personal best of 7:54.31 minutes is the third fastest of all time.
Günther Weidlinger is an Austrian long-distance runner who is a former 3000 metres steeplechase specialist but now competes in the marathon.
Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metre steeplechase. He won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he has two World Championship medals in the discipline.
Bouchra Chaabi is a Moroccan long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase.
Victoria Mitchell is an Australian long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase.
Mercy Wanjiku Njoroge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the steeplechase.
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad is a retired French professional middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is the only man to win three Olympic steeplechase medals, claiming silver in 2008 and 2012 and bronze in 2016. He also won two bronze medals at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in 2011 and 2013. Mekhissi-Benabbad earned titles at five consecutive editions of the European Athletics Championships between 2010 and 2018.
Habiba Ghribi is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman. She is also the Tunisian record holder in the event, having run 9:05.36 at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels in September 2015.
Elena Romagnolo is an Italian steeplechaser, middle and long-distance runner. She is the national record holder in the 3000 metres steeplechase, but now competes mainly in the 5000 metres.
Genevieve Gregson is an Australian athletics competitor who specializes in the 3000 metre steeplechase. She qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and ran 9:26.11 in her Women's 3000m steeplechase heat to qualify for the final. Unfortunately she fell and was unable to complete the race.
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal is a Norwegian middle-, long-distance and steeplechase runner. She won bronze medals for the 10,000 metres at the 2016 European Championships, and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2018 European Championships. Grøvdal earned nine individual medals at the European Cross Country Championships, an unsurpassed record by a female athlete in the meet history.
Conseslus Kipruto is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the event. At the World Athletics Championships, Kipruto won gold medals in 2017 and 2019, silver medals in 2013 and 2015, and a bronze in 2022. In 2018, he captured gold medals at the African Championships and Commonwealth Games. He is a four-time Diamond League winner.
Luke Gunn is a British male track and field athlete who competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He married fellow athlete Hannah England in 2013.
Madeline Heiner is an Australian runner. She placed fourth in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she placed 7th in the 3000m steeplechase final and 10th in the 5000m final. She also represented Australia in the 2015 IAAF World Championships, 2017 IAAF World Championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Soufiane El Bakkali is a Moroccan runner specializing in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion, having previously finished fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the World Athletics Championships, El Bakkali won two gold medals, winning his first in 2022 and later in 2023, He won silver in 2017 and bronze in 2019. He also placed third at the 2019 African Games and second at the 2018 African Championships.
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