Ugandan Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai was taken to hospital after a concerning fall during the women’s 3000m steeplechase final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Medical staff rushed out to the 26-year-old when she tripped over a dry barrier and crashed into the track with three laps to go.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Peruth Chemutai suffers bad fall during women’s steeplechase.
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She was stretchered off the track and later taken to hospital for further assessment.
Chemutai first stumbled on a dry barrier 200 metres earlier, but was able to stay on her feet and remain in the race, albeit losing her lead and dropping to fourth.
“Chemutai almost came down. Now, this is going to rattle her a bit,” Bruce McAvaney said on commentary.
“She’s lost her position, she’s lost her rhythm for the moment.”
The 26-year-old got over just one more dry barrier before she came crashing down on the next one, this time staying sprawled on the track.
Tamsyn Manou was only just saying that Chemutai had “settled back in” when the Ugandan’s race was suddenly over.
“Gee, what’s been happening? Poor woman. This is the Olympic champion on this track four years ago,” McAvaney said.
“Oh, you really feel for her here. It absolutely rattled her and she seemed to have lost all orientation.”
In 2021, Chemutai became Uganda’s first female Olympic gold medallist in the same event — and on the same track in Tokyo.
“That’s just such a shame because Chemutai was looking so comfortable in the front position,” Manou added.
When the runners got back around to that point of the track, Chemutai had moved onto the grass on the inside of lane one and had as many as 12 medical staff surrounding her with a stretcher laid out.
Her dramatic exit from the race handed the advantage to Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi, who took the lead, but couldn’t hold on in the final 200 metres of the race with Kenya’s rising star Faith Cherotich stalking her.
Cherotich went past Yavi on the last water jump and surged into the lead to win the race in a championship record time of 8:51.59.
Defending champion Yavi finished second, while Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew took bronze.
Meantime, Uganda Athletics Federation officials said Chemutai was in good medical care and that an update on her condition would be provided later.
“We are heartbroken as a nation,” Uganda Athletics tweeted.
“Peruth Chemutai’s brave run in the women’s 3000m steeplechase ends in pain after a horrific fall at the hurdles.
“You gave it your all, champion, we stand with you.”
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