Athletics is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and racewalking. In British English the term "Athletics" is synonymous with American "Track and Field" and includes all jumping events. Outside of Canada and the United States, Athletics is the official term for this sport with 'track' and 'field' events being subgroups of athletics events.
Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi is a Kenyan professional athlete, winner of the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, the 2011 World Championships, the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2013 World Championships and the 2015 World Championships. His 3000 m steeplechase best of 7:55.76 set at Monaco in 2011 places him as the seventh fastest of all time. This time is also the fastest non-winning time in history. He is one of only five men to have won both Olympic and World golds in the event, along with Reuben Kosgei, Brimin Kipruto, Conseslus Kipruto and Soufiane El Bakkali. He and El Bakkali are the only multiple gold medalists in both. He is the only athlete to have won four world championships in the steeplechase. He is one of only three athletes to have won two Olympic titles in the event; the other two being Volmari Iso-Hollo and Soufiane El Bakkali.
Athletics has been contested at every Summer Olympics since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics. The athletics program traces its earliest roots to events used in the ancient Greek Olympics. The modern program includes track and field events, road running events, and race walking events. Cross country running was also on the program in earlier editions but it was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Mehdi Baala is a French middle-distance runner competing mainly in the 1500 metres event. Baala has won several major international championships medals in the 1500 metres event – an Olympic Games bronze, a World Championships silver, two European Championships golds and a European Indoor Championships bronze. Moreover, he has won several medals in the 1500 metres event of the European Cup, IAAF World Cup and the IAAF World Athletics Final. Baala is considered to be one of the best French middle-distance runners of all time. As of February 2024, he holds French national outdoor records for three distances and French national indoor records for three distances.
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.
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.
The Men's 3.000 metres Steeplechase at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, on August 16 and August 18, 2009. Keeping in line with previous major championships success, the four-man Kenyan team entered for the event contained a number of race favourites.
Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova is a Russian former disgraced middle-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase event.
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.
The athletics competitions at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were held during the last 10 days of the Games, on 3–12 August. Track and field events took place at the Olympic Stadium in east London. The road events, however, started and finished on The Mall in central London.
The Women's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 4–6 August at the Olympic Stadium. The winning margin was 1.47 seconds.
Kenya competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's thirteenth appearance at the Olympics, they did not participate in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the African and United States boycott.
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, was a summer multi-sport event held in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August. A total of 10,768 athletes from 204 nations participated in 302 events in 26 sports across 39 different disciplines.
Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from 12 to 21 August 2016, at the Olympic Stadium. The sport of athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics was made into three distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.
The 100 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 100 metres has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The 100 metres is considered one of the blue riband events of the Olympics and is among the highest profile competitions at the games. It is the most prestigious 100 metres race at an elite level and is the shortest sprinting competition at the Olympics – a position it has held at every edition except for a brief period between 1900 and 1904, when a men's 60 metres was contested.
Race walking events at the Summer Olympics have been contested over a variety of distances at the multi-sport event. There were three race walking events in the 2020 Summer Olympics: a men's and a women's 20 kilometres walk, and a men's 50 kilometres walk. The races were held in a final-only format.
The men's 3000 metres steeplechase competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was held at the Olympic Stadium between 15–17 August.
Kenya competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's fourteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR)
Winfred Yavi (BHR)
