Indian women’s 3000m steeplechase runners Lalita Babar and Sudha Singh experienced different fates on Day 8 of the Rio Olympics 2016.
Lalita made quite impressive fourth-place finish in Heat 2 and also giving India a new national record of 9:19.76s. However, Sudha Singh failed to make the cut in Heat 3. A total of 15 runners make it to the final round, top three from each of the three heats and the next fastest six women.
Babar started strong and also took the lead halfway through the race in spite of suffering a fall. In the final two laps, Babar was running third in the lead but it was only in the last lap that Kenyan runner Beatrice Chepkoech accelerated to take the lead bolting past Lalita, USA’s Emma Coburn and Tunisia’s Habiba Ghribi.
Beatrice finished first in the heat with a time of 9:17.55 while Emma finished second with a time of 9:18.12 and Habiba third clocking 9:18.71. Lalita’s time was better than the top three of other heats and naturally makes it to the final round. Sadly, Sudha Singh could not match Lalita’s feat and finished a lowly ninth in the last heat with a time of 9:43.29.
The winner in the third heat was Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi who finished with a time of 9:24.61. That time itself ensured that Lalita Babar qualified for the final as one of the six fastest athletes who finished outside the top three in their heat.