Ethiopian Lamecha Girma Smashes Steeplechase World Record in Paris Meeting

Girma (22 years old) beat the previous record registered in the name of Qatari Saif Saeed Shaheen (7:53.63 d.) in the Brussels-Belgian meeting since 2004.

And the Ethiopian succeeded in taking the lead in the race, overcoming the barriers, to end up lying on the track after breaking the record, after he had previously won two silver medals in the 2019 and 2022 World Cups and in the 2021 Olympics.

“I feel very happy,” Girma said. “Very happy and proud.”

“I felt like I was running really fast during the race and I’m very confident. The world record is no surprise, I planned to break it this evening in Paris. It’s the result of sheer determination.”

It is the third world record on a wonderful evening in the French capital, after Kenyan Faith Kipyegon broke the 5000m record a week after breaking the 1500m world record at the Italian Florence meeting, while the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigsten improved the 2-mile race record by four seconds. And a half off the previous record.

Girma dominated the race, which he finished 17 seconds behind Ryuji Miura, the second-place finisher, who set a new Japanese record of 8:09.91 minutes, while Spaniard Daniel Arce finished third with a time of 8:10.63 d.

As is the case in all races, Girma used the “Wavelight” technology, which is a light signal that helps runners track their race.