Athletics-New Zealander Beamish stuns Bakkali to take steeplechase gold

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By Mitch Phillips

TOKYO (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish claimed a stunning world gold in the 3,000 metres steeplechase on Monday when he dipped to defeat a shocked Soufiane El Bakkali on the line and denied 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.

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.

DEAFENING NOISE FOR LOCAL HOPE MIURA

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 1,500m 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.”

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.”

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris)