By Mitch Phillips, Reuters and RNZ Sport
World 3000m steeplechase champion George Beamish of New Zealand.
Photo: Supplied / Athletics NZ
New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish has claimed a stunning world gold in the 3000 metres steeplechase, dipping to defeat a shocked Soufiane El Bakkali on the line and denying the Moroccan a fifth successive global title.
El Bakkali, twice Olympic and world champion, seemed on course for the hat-trick when he hit the front at the bell and after surging clear seemed to think he had it in the bag.
Beamish, however, famed for his late kick, had other ideas and pushed on to snatch it on the line in 8 minutes 33.88 seconds, beating the champion by seven hundredths of a second.
It completed a remarkable week for the Kiwi after he fell with only a lap to go in his heat, getting stamped on the head in the process, but recovered to qualify.
Beamish pips El Bakkali at the finishing line.
Photo: AFP
Seventeen-year-old Kenyan Edmund Serum, who has been working with marathon superstar Eliud Kipchoge, took a brilliant bronze in 8:34.56.
Nobody outside his family probably had Beamish down for a medal, let alone gold, as he arrived in Tokyo as the 31st-fastest man in the event this year, but a funereal early pace played into his hands.
It also seemed to work for Bakkali as he sat patiently at the back in the early laps, gradually working his way through and then hit the front at the bell.
‘I knew I had it in me’ – Beamish
There was deafening noise in the stadium as local hope Ryuji Miura was in the lead pack of half a dozen, though he could not quite hold it in the final lap.
It seemed to be a victory parade for Bakkali but he lost momentum after lightly touching the last barrier and Beamish, who showed his speed when winning the world indoor 1500m title last year, seized his opportunity in incredible fashion.
“This was a turn-up, wasn’t it? That was pretty unreal,” a smiling 28-year-old Beamish said. “I just can’t believe how hot the crowd was.
“I just gave myself a shot in the last 200 metres. I knew I had it in me tonight. I only knew I’d win one metre before the finish and that was enough.
“It’s a first track gold for New Zealand at a world championships, which is pretty cool.”
Beamish won the 1500m title at the world indoor champs last year.
Speaking to reporters in the bowels of the stadium, he added: “I’ve been enjoying the last hour or so. I love the stadium. It’s my dream. So, I’m just trying to soak it in and enjoy it as much as I can.”
Bakkali, 29, has almost forgotten what it is like to lose and said: “It’s very difficult for me to accept this result but I have to because this is high performance sport.”
As further evidence of the surprise nature of the result, he did not even know Beamish’s name, but was magnanimous in defeat.
“I congratulated the athlete from New Zealand,” he said. “I had good tactics but I clipped the last barrier and lost balance. It was not the result I wanted, but sport wins tonight.”
Duplantis breaks pole vault record for 14th time
Meanwhile, Mondo Duplantis broke the pole vault world record for the 14th time with a jump of 6.30 metres on his third attempt as he secured a third straight world title.
The gold medal was already secure for the American-born Swede when he had the bar raised a centimetre higher than the record height of 6.29m he managed in Budapest last month.
He failed by the narrowest of margins at his first two attempts but, roared on by a captivated crowd at the National Stadium, slid over on the third with the bar giving a slight wobble before settling.
Greek Emmanouil Karalis won silver as the only one apart from Duplantis to get over at 6.00m, while Australian Kurtis Marschall matched his personal best with a jump of 5.95m to win a second world bronze medal.
Brother ‘super-stoked’ with effort
Beamish had already startled spectators at the world champs with a remarkable performance in his heat on Sunday.
The 28-year-old finished second in the heat, after falling early in the final lap and getting a rival’s shoe in his face.
He leapt back to his feet and quickly caught up on the field, before surging into second place, just 0.02s behind Moroccan heat winner Salaheddine Ben Yazide.
Beamish’s brother Hugo, himself a former steeplechaser, was thrilled with today’s win.
“He’s got a habit of making it pretty stressful,” Hugo told Morning Report.
“That’s his thing, leave it to the last 10 metres, so [with] 100 metres [to go] he’s always in the mix and you can’t count him out. We are super-stoked for him.”
A 3000m steeplechase involves runners tackling 28 barriers and seven water jumps, and can be quite hazardous.
“There can be a bit of carnage with people falling or just jumping a hurdle in a big group like that, so you’ve got to stay out of trouble,” Hugo said.
His brother seemed best in medium to fast-paced races, he said.
“He just gets in a good position with a lap to go and he just seem to physiologically…..be able to burn them all off.”
– Reuters / RNZ