Introduction to the Steeplechase

According to IAAF rules, a 3000-meter steeplechase includes 28 hurdle jumps and seven water jumps. There are no jumps on the first lap. Each subsequent lap includes five jumps, the fourth of which is a water jump. The jumps are evenly distributed throughout each lap.

Steeplechase races require a combination of track and field skills, including speed, endurance, strength and flexibility.

Unlike standard hurdle events, steeplechasers must go over each hurdle and cannot knock the hurdles down. Men’s hurdles are 914 millimeters (36 inches) high, women’s are 762 mm (30 inches). All hurdles, except at the water jumps, are 3.94 meters (just under 13 feet) wide. Water hurdles, and the water pits themselves, are 3.66 meters (12 feet) wide. The beginning of the water pit is 70 centimeters (2.3 feet) deep and slopes up to a depth of 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) at the far end. So the farther a steeplechaser jumps, the less water he or she encounters.

Kenyan-born Saif Saaeed Shaheen, now a citizen of Qatar, set the mark on Sept. 3, 2004 in Brussels, Belgium, on the same track that former world record-holder Brahim Boulami established his record in 2001. Boulami witnessed his record’s demise first-hand, finishing third in the event. Shaheen sat in third for much of the race, taking the lead with three laps remaining and finishing in 7:53.63.

Gulnara Samitova of Russia was practically running against herself on July 4, 2004, when she established the current world record with a time of 9:01.59. First, Samitova was trying to best her own world mark, set the previous year. Additionally, there were no competitors in sight to challenge Samitova over the final three laps.