Steeplechase (3,000 metres), Men

By now, the Kenyans were established as the dominant nation in the steeplechase. Though their distance runners were excellent at all distances, this seemed to be the race they had chosen as “their own.” Kenyans had won the last two Olympic gold medals and also in 1968-72, won four of the last five Commonwealth Games, and, in 1991, Moses Kiptanui had won the World Championships, his first of three consecutive. However, Kiptanui seemed off form in 1992 and was not chosen for the Kenyan steeplechase team at Barcelona, after finishing fourth at the Kenyan Olympic Trials. Offered a chance to run in the Olympics because of his dominance, he demurred rather than bumping the third-place finisher, his friend William Mutwol.

Kiptanui’s absence mattered little, as Kenya achieved their first medal sweep in the steeplechase. The race was won by Matthew Birir, the World Junior Champion and junior world record holder. He, Patrick Sang, and Mutwol were chased on the last lap by Italy’s Alessandro Lambruschini, but he fell off the pace at the water jump. Birir finished easily in the lead, turning his head several times on the final straight to check his position. This was the third medal sweep in the steeplechase, having been achieved in 1928 by Finland and 1948 by Sweden.

A few weeks after the Olympics, Moses Kiptanui broke the world record, running 8:02.08 at the Weltklasse Meet in Zürich.