What is steeplechase event

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By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. What is the steeplechase event at the Olympics? By kate. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. What is steeplechase? How is it scored? Steeplechase originates from a 18th century equestrian event in Ireland. Riders would race from town to town and use church steeples as starting and ending points. During the event, riders would have to overcome obstacles across the Irish countryside like streams, ditches, stone walls and fences.

Athletes in Britain began competing in steeplechase without using horses in the 19th century. With many obstacles to conquer, the steeplechase can sometimes offer some of the most unpredictable drama of the Olympics. But one thing that is always certain is Kenyan success in the event. With a couple laps to go, I stepped up onto it with my right foot, which slid the length of the barrier to the right.

I belly-flopped into the pit and went all the way under. For months afterward, my coach kept a video of my fall cued up on his TV. Thanks, coach. Falling is a rite of passage, though. I once caught my toe on a barrier in the preliminary round at the National Championships, fell to the ground and somersaulted, then rolled back up to a running position without losing ground to my competitors Besides the water jump, there are four barriers placed evenly around the track.

The standard steeplechase distance is 3, meters, or about 1. In a meter steeplechase, you skip the water pit and first barrier during the first half lap. The first barrier, which is just after the finish line mark, is wider than the others to accommodate the fact that the field may be bunched up at the start of the race. And yes, everyone is wearing spikes. As awesome as this event is, steeplechasers get no love.

The countryside would also require runners to jump over various barriers over the course of their race. These included stone walls and small rivers. When the race was modernized, the walls were simulated with hurdles and the rivers and creeks were simulated with the water pit. According to the IAAF, the modern 3,meter steeplechase track event — with the barriers and the water pit — first originated at Oxford University in the midth century.

It was then included in the English Championship in In the Olympics, men have raced the steeplechase since , while the women, somewhat shockingly, only first raced it at the Olympics in in Beijing. Today, the race features five barriers: four hurdles plus the barrier before the water pit.

For the men, those barriers are 36 inches, and for the women they are 30 inches. The water pit, meanwhile, is 12 feet long for both.