Kenyan medal fancy bailed out by referee after botched steeplechase heat
A botched jump had appeared to cost young Kenyan athletics star Amos Serem a chance of taking a medal in the men's 3000m steeplechase in Paris, only for the referee to intervene to guarantee him a place in the final.
An under-20s gold medallist in 2021, Serem was considered a chance to get on the podium, but was on the verge of crashing out in round one due to a jump in the closing stages of his qualification race.
The Kenyan was in a decent position when he went up the inside, coming into the water obstacle only to bail out and duck around the hurdle.
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Amos Serem has qualified for the men's 3000m steeplechase final thanks to a refereeing intervention. AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
That forced him to do a U-turn to correctly take the jump, but it cost him precious time and he ended up finishing in sixth, outside the five automatic qualification spots for the final.
But Serem will still get a chance to race for a medal, with the race referee giving him qualification due to rule TR17.1.1, which says a runner may be allowed into the next round of an event if they were "seriously affected" by jostling that was unintentional or caused by another athlete.
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