In the thrilling final ending at Stade de France, Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai took a silver medal in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Chemutai finished with 8:53.34 to set a new national record and finish just at the back of Bahrain’s Winfred Mutile Yavi, who took gold with an Olympic Record time of 8:52.76.
It not only sealed gold for Yavi but also destroyed the previous Olympic Record of 8:58.81. Faith Cherotich of Kenya completed the podium places with the bronze, crossing the line in 8:55.15. France’s Alice Finot finished just outside the medal places in fourth, but the same time of 8:55.15.
Chemutai, who created history by becoming the first Ugandan woman to win an Olympic gold in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, reacted with elation and relief.
“This is a dream come true. It has been such a hard journey to get to this point. In the final, I was expecting something good. I just felt good about the race. I believed in myself that I had that finishing speed,” she said.
Yavi’s winning time of 8:52.76 is the fourth fastest performance of all time, behind only the 8:44.32 world record set by Beatrice Chepkoech in Monaco in 2018. The top 10 finishers in Paris were all under 9:10.00, underlining the excellence of competition.
In the general medal table, Uganda now has its second medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, having earlier won gold via Joshua Cheptegei’s victory in the men’s 10,000m race. Going into Wednesday morning, Uganda lies 33rd on the medal table with one gold and one silver out of the 206 participating countries.
The final for the men’s 3000m Steeplechase shall be on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. The Uganda camp expects much from this field again.
