Search icon

Sport

13th Aug 2016

Ethiopian loses shoe during steeplechase, but manages to beat opponent by 37 seconds

Olympic spirit

Patrick McCarry

Etenesh Diro was hoping for a Women’s Steeplechase gold, she was expected to finish on the podium. Her footwear had other ideas.

The Ethiopian was predicted to breeze through her heat in Rio, this morning, but she lost her runner after being into a tangle with her fellow runners.

The incident happened with two laps remaining and, spotting Diro continuing with one shoe, drew roars of encouragement from the crowd.

She so, so nearly caught the frontrunners but simply had too much ground to make up. She eventually finished 7th, four agonising seconds off a qualifying position, and time.

All the while, Team GB’s Lennie Waite finished on 17th after getting around, up and down in a time of 10:14.18. That was 37 seconds down on Diro.

British interest in the event is now over.

Read more from SportsJOE:

Add us on Snapchat:

thumbnail_SNAPCHATUK