Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai failed to defend her Olympic 3000m steeplechase title after being beaten in a dramatic sprint finish by Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi at Paris 2024.
The two athletes were locked together going into the home straight and remained neck-and-neck as they went over the final barrier with 50 metres to go.
It was only in the last 20 metres that Kenyan-born Yavi, the gold medallist at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, was able to kick on ahead of her opponent as Chemutai’s resistance finally broke.
Yavi’s winning time of eight minutes 52.76 seconds set a new Olympic record, while Chemutai also set a new Ugandan national record, finishing in eight minutes 53.34 seconds.
Kenya’s Faith Cherotich finished third to take the bronze medal.
Yavi wins tightest of sprints
Chemutai came into the race looking to earn her nation a second athletics gold at the Games, following on from Joshua Cheptegei’s victory in the men’s 10,000m.
However, it was Kenyan world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech who led for much of the race until Chemutai decided to wind up the pace.
The 25-year old held the advantage at the bell, positioned at the head of a group of five athletes which included Chepkoech, Cherotich and Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew, as well as the more diminutive Yavi, who was happy to bide her time while the others jockeyed for position.
As the crowd in the Stade de France raised the noise, Chemutai and Yavi, 24, pulled ahead of the pack to begin their head-to-head battle over the last 100 metres.
Ultimately, it was Yavi who had the greater stamina to cross the line first, arms outstretched to embrace victory.
Having switched allegiance from Kenya to Bahrain at the age of 15, she becomes the third competitor to win athletics gold for her country at the Olympics.
And she celebrated her achievement by dancing and screaming her delight, with Chemutai and the rest of her opponents strewn, exhausted and dejected, across the track.