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paintballimpact.com / Sports / 3,000 Meter Steeplechase
3,000 Meter Steeplechase - Track & Field
The 3,000 meter steeplechase takes place on the stadium track, outside the lanes. It is one of the most interesting sports in track and field, and a competition that involves sprinting, running over hurdles, and even a water jump. Originally, the steeplechase was a horse race with obstacles.
The origins of the game come from 18th century fox hunting, in which the hunt ended near a church with a steeple. The horse riding aspect of the hunt inspired the contest to be such a long distance. The old Irish fox hunt was transformed into a race with jumping and hurdles in 1850, by Oxford University students.
The original steeplechase races were 93,218 meter a little over 2 miles) course with obstacles that included hurdles and shallow water. In 1879, the steeplechase was included in men's track and field championships in England. The obstacles and distance of the steeplechase was modified in 1882. By 1900, the steeplechase races were included in the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris featuring distances over 4,000 and 2,500 meters. The 3,000 meter steeplechase race that is currently run was premiered in 1954.
Running the 3,000m Steeplechase
This unique sport starts on the stadium track, outside the lanes. 8 to 12 runners line up. The first hurdle occurs at 200 meters, and the third and fourth hurdles are set up during the race. During the subsequent 7 laps, runners face 5 jumps per lap, with the fourth being the water jump. The entire race includes 7 water jumps and 28 steeplechase hurdles. The water jump is an incredible section of the event where a runner approaches a 0.991 steeplechase hurdle, jumps onto it, launches himself forward, lands in the water, and then continues up the track. This is an amazing event where the runner must actually leap onto the bar, and land in the water.
Jumping the Hurdles. Runners use a similar approach for the 3000 meter steeplechase hurdles as the 400m hurdles. The runners must approach the hurdles, keep their body vertical while jumping and try to land without breaking stride and losing too much speed. Runners try to time their jump so that they hit the jump over in stride, and so that they don't have to take a half step before jumping. When in the air, a runner leans forward, and folds his arm for balance. After landing, the runner attempt to keep their stride flowing forward. The best athletes at this event lose about one third of a second in lost time.
Jumping the Water Jump. The runner takes off two meters before the hurdle. He lands on the hurdle with one foot and uses it to launch himself as far over the water as he can. The length of the water jump is about 3.33 meters. Most runners land about 2.5 feet from the end of the water ditch. After impact the runner propels himself forward out of the water, and back to full racing velocity after a few strides. Some elite steeplechasers even land all the way past the water, at a great expense of energy.
Paintball and the 3,000 meter steeplechase are different as one is a team oriented sport, and the other is an individual athletic event. In the steeple run, the athlete wins as an individual. In the last thirty years, Kenyans like Moses Kiptanui have dominated the event.
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