OlympicTalk · Jun 7, 2018
Steeplechase barrier set too high causes chaos at Diamond League
A barrier set too high marred the women’s 3000m steeplechase at a Diamond League meet in Oslo on Thursday.
A few competitors ran into the barrier. American Emma Coburn, the world champion, made it over clean but then motioned over and over again that something was wrong as she continued the race.
The barrier was wrongly set at the men’s height, which is six inches higher than the women’s height, Coburn and TV commentators said. A similar mishap occurred in qualifying at the 2009 USATF Outdoor Championships.
The runners went through the barrier three times before it was fully fixed. Kenyan Hyvin Kiyeng won in 9:09.63, holding off Coburn’s late charge by .07.