Sara Treacy has been advanced to the final of the women’s 3000m steeplechase at the Rio Olympics after an unfortunate fall with just under three laps to go potentially cost her a place in the decider, writes Will Downing.
Treacy was in contention for a fastest loser’s spot lying in ninth place at the back of a packed bunch when Ethiopian Etenesh Diro fell right in front of her.
The Irish athlete had nowhere to go and ended up off the track, clipping the metal rigging that divides the inside lane from the infield.
Treacy had to pick herself up and carry on, but had lost her momentum and rhythm, immediately falling to twelfth – which would prove her ultimate finishing position.
Despite saying that she thought an appeal would be pointless, Irish management put one in anyway, and IOC/IAAF officials upheld it, meaning Treacy will take part in Monday’s final (3:15pm Irish time).
Thankfully, there was no obvious injury for the Dunboyne AC athlete, who was only starting to complain of stinging after the race.
The European Championship finalist’s time of 9:46.24 was seven seconds outside her lifetime set this year, which probably would have been under threat had she stayed upright.
While that mark of 9:39.41 would have been good enough for ninth in the heat, with only three going through and six fastest losers, Treacy would have needed an extra nine seconds to have made it into the final of her own right.
Treacy said after the race, but before the successful Irish appeal: “Unfortunately, the adrenaline is wearing off and it’s beginning to sting quite a bit in my legs but other than that, I’m grand – disappointed.”
Describing the incident that saw her crash into a stricken Diro, who competed for the rest of the race with only one shoe, Treacy remarked: “I had caught up with the back of the pack, and we were running along a nice pace when somebody just stopped, and then everybody just ran into the back of them.
“I tried to avoid it and stepped on the inside of the track. It all happened so quickly, you don’t plan to step on the inside of the track but I did and I hit a metal grate, a drainage grate, and I just fell.
“I don’t know how much it cost me, I just completely lost momentum and I kind of felt my legs, had lost the pack, and had to get up and chase them down again.
“I thought ‘This is not going to define my Olympics! Get up and get going!’ but it’s harder to get going again than you think, so even if I was only on the ground for a few seconds, it certainly took more than that out of me.”
Hyvin Jepkemoi of Kenya won the heat in 9:24.61, ahead of Genevieve Lacaze of Australia and Courtney Frerichs of Germany.
Fellow European finalists and World Championships qualifiers Michelle Finn and Kerry O’Flaherty also bowed out – Finn was 11th in her semi-final, with O’Flaherty 14th.
Finn of Leevale AC put in a similar finish to that seen in the European final in Amsterdam when she rocketed towards the line in the closing straight, overtaking three others in claiming a higher finish.
Her time of 9:49.45 was six seconds outside this year’s season’s best as Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya won in 9:17.55.
Finn admitted: “I think I have a habit of doing that! Starting off easy and finishing faster. I’m certainly happy with how I came through in the race.”
O’Flaherty clocked a season’s best 9:45.35 – within three seconds of her PB – as Ruth Jebet, formerly of Kenya but now running for Bahrain, took the honours in 9:12.62.
The Newcastle athlete said: “I’m happy to be out there. It was a very fast race from the start.
“Usually it’s the total reverse. Heat 3 will have watched heat 1 and heat 2, and the girls are going for times then.
“But as it turned out, heat 1 was the fastest heat so it was won in 9:12. It was crazy up at the front. I was where I needed to be and happy to come through in 9:45.
“I think it was a season’s best. Obviously I would have liked to have been a little bit faster, but I’m proud to have been out there and to call myself an Olympian now.
“Proud to be out here with these other two girls as well. We’ve come a long way together and proud to be making Irish athletics history as well.”
Later tonight, Mark English goes in the men’s 800m semi-final at 2:25am Sunday morning Irish time.
