Day 1 Morning session: Soufiane El Bakkali, Abraham Kibiwot and Lamecha Girma makes through to the finals in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.

This is the day 1-morning session report by Justin Lagat. Justin sent this piece as I was finishing tweets on all of the rounds! It’s fun to have Justin in Kenya, Stuart in Tokyo, David in Akron, Mike in Indy, and myself in Fort Atkinson, to cover the Tokyo Olympics.

John Koech dropped out of heat 1, photo by Stuart Weir

Looking at the level of competition on the morning session of the first day of athletics in Tokyo, the Olympic qualification times indeed made sure that even the first rounds of the track events were hotly contested and exciting to watch.

Men’s steeplechase, round 1, heat 3, 1. Soufianne El Bakkali, MOR, 8:19.00q, 2. Topi Raitenen, 8:19.17 SB, q 3. Alexis Phelut, FRA, 8:19.36 q, Day 1, photos by Kathy Camara @stuartweir, @britathletics, @euroathletics, @tokyo2020, @usatf, @coachathletics, @scotathletics, pic.twitter.com/nx4ISlJ0IV

— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) July 30, 2021

Preserving the energy for the final when a runner one has not yet made it in the first rounds could be costly. Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco may have been trying to hint to his fellow runners in the third heat of the men’s 3000m steeplechase as he sprinted to the lead in the first 50m, then moved out to an outside lane to allow someone else to take the lead. But, no one seems to have gotten the message and he moved back to ride inside the pack and left them to learn the hard way. While they already knew the times to run in order to get the fastest qualifying times, interestingly this turned out to become the slowest heat where there was jostling and pushing in the last 400m as El Bakkali won it. Kenya’s Leonard Bett and USA’s Hillary Bor would have easily made it to the finals had they made it a fast heat and gotten within the six fastest times, but they were probably preserving their energy for the finals, which they won’t be present. Topi Raitanen of Finland and Alexis Phelut of France were second and third respectively.

The first heat was won by Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma ahead of Japan’s Ryuji Miura in 2^nd and Kenya’s Benjamin Kigen in third.

Men’s steeplechase, heat 1, 1. Lamecha Girma, ETH, 8:09.83q, 2. Riuji Miura, JPN, 8:09.92 NRq, 3. Benjamin Kigen, KEN, 8:10.80 SBq…8. @masonferlic, USA, 8:20.23, Day 1, photos by @stuartweir, @britathletics, @euroathletics
, @tokyo2020, @usatf, @coachathletics
, @caltrackrn, pic.twitter.com/RtNa8Fji9f

— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) July 30, 2021

Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot appeared to control much of the second heat and just did enough to win it followed by Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale in second and Italy’s Ahmed Abdelwahed in third.

Men’s steeplechase, heat 2, 1. Abraham Kibiwott, KEN, 8:12.25 q, 2. Getnet Wale, ETH, 8:12.55q, 3. Ahmed Abdelwahed, ITA, 8:12.71q, …6. Bernard Keter, USA, 8:17.31 PB, Day 1, photos by Kathy Camara, @stuartweir, @britathletics, @euroathletics@tokyo2020, @usatf, @coachathletics pic.twitter.com/NKHusRDoj7

— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) July 30, 2021

There were six heats of the women’s 800m that saw the main protagonists proceed to the semi-finals. Athing Mu, Habitam Alemu, Natoya Goule, Ajee Wilson, Raevyn Rogers, Jemma Reekie, Mary Moraa, Rose Mary Almanza, and Renelle Lamote, among others, made it through. The only notable name who failed to proceed was Kenya’s Eunice Sum.

Women’s 800m, round 1, heat 2, 1. Natoya Goule, JAM, 1:59.83q, 2. Noelle Yargo, BEN, 2:00.11q, 3. Hedda Hyne, NOR, 2:00.76q, 4. Halimah Nayaaki, UGA, 2:00.92q, 5. Katharine Trost, GER, 2:00.99q, Day 1, photos via TV by Kathy Camara, @stuartweir, @britathletics, @euroathletics, pic.twitter.com/6H01iwFZyS

— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) July 30, 2021