3000 metres steeplechase

Athletics 3000 metres steeplechase
A passage at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
Men's records
World	Saif Saaeed Shaheen 7:53.63 (2004)
Olympic	Conseslus Kipruto 8:03.28 (2016)
Women's records
World	Ruth Jebet 8:52.78 (2016)
Olympic	Gulnara Galkina 8:58.81 (2008)

The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the horse racing steeplechase.

It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics; it is also an event recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The obstacles for the men are 914 millimetres (36.0 in) high, and for the women 762 millimetres (30.0 in). The water jump consists of a barrier followed by a pit of water with a landing area 3.66 metres (12.0 ft) wide × 0.70 metres (2.3 ft). It then slopes upward from 700 millimetres (28 in) deep to level with the surface of the track.

The length of the race is usually 3,000 metres (9,800 ft); junior and some masters events are 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), as women's events used to be. The circuit has four ordinary barriers and one water jump. Over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), each runner must clear a total of 28 ordinary barriers and seven water jumps. This entails seven complete laps after starting with a fraction of a lap run without barriers. The water jump is located on the back turn, either inside the inner lane or outside the outer lane. If it is on the outside, then each of the seven laps is longer than the standard 400 m, and the starting point is on the home straight. If the water jump is on the inside, each lap is shorter than 400 m, the starting point is on the back straight, so the water jump and barrier in the home straight are bypassed in the first half lap at the start.

Unlike those used in hurdling, steeplechase barriers do not fall over if hit, and rules allow an athlete to negotiate the barrier by any means, so many runners step on top of them. Four barriers are spaced around the track on level ground, and a fifth barrier at the top of the second turn (fourth barrier in a complete lap from the finish line) is the water jump. The slope of the water jump rewards runners with more jumping ability, because a longer jump results in a shallower landing in the water.