PARIS, France — Washington state added yet another medal to its haul from the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, as Walla Walla's Kenneth Rooks finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final.
Rooks placed first at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the event despite a fall and finished second in his Round 1 heat to advance to the final. Rooks' time in the final was 8:06.41.
Holding a lead down the stretch of the final lap, Rooks was passed late by Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali. Rooks was just .36 seconds behind El Bakkali in the end, with Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot taking the bronze medal.
After graduating from College Place High School, Rooks went on to Brigham Young University. Rooks won the 2023 NCAA Division I national championship in the steeplechase and was a four-time All-American for the Cougars.
In addition to his work on the track, Rooks served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 2019-21 in Africa and Utah, per his BYU athlete bio.
What is the steeplechase?
If you’re not impressed by the concept of just running around a track really fast a few times, then the steeplechase might be the event for you.
Steeplechase is 7.5 laps around a track for 3,000 meters. There are four 30-inch barriers that runners have to jump over throughout the track and then one water pit.
The first half of a lap of the steeplechase is a casual run, and the hurdles begin with seven laps to go. When runners reach the water, they fly through the air and attempt to clear the 10-foot water pit and land on the other side.
The runners keep running over the hurdles before crossing the water again, for a total of seven laps of this obstacle course.
A 3,000-meter steeplechase has 28 barriers and seven water jumps in total.
KUSA's Alexander Kirk contributed to this report.
