Kenya out for steeple glory

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-18 08:12

Kenya is seeking a seventh consecutive Olympic gold in the 3,000m steeplechase today after sweeping the worlds podium last year, even though 2008 frontrunner and 2004 bronze medalist Paul Kipsiele Koech is only a reserve after a poor trials.

Ezekiel Kemboi defends his Olympic crown with Richard Matelong, third in the 2007 worlds, and world champion Brimin Kipruto, the 2004 Olympic runner-up also in the mix.

Three-time world runner-up Kemboi, 26, could become the first man since Finland's Volmari Iso-Hollo in 1936 to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the event.

Kenyan-born Tareq Mubarak Taher of Bahrain, the 2006 Asian Games champion, is the top bet to thwart a Kenyan sweep.

Kenya has dominated the steeplechase in recent years, winning the last six Olympic golds and sweeping the medals at the world championships in Osaka last year.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/18/2008 page20)