How dangerous is the steeplechase?
A Michigan athlete's head-first flip into the water pit at the Big Ten Championships begs the question: is this the most dangerous event in track and field?
Ouch! During the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at last Saturday’s Big Ten Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., University of Michigan’s Ian Hill took a nasty, head-first tumble over a barrier, flipping upside-down and landing hard in the water pit.
Now, viral clips of the runner’s crash are circulating online, prompting the question: could the steeplechase be the most dangerous event in track and field?
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The 3,000m steeplechase: explained
The 3,000m steeplechase spans seven and a half laps, requiring runners to clear 28 barriers–including seven jumps over a 3.7-metre water pit. The pit is about 70 cm (2.5 feet) deep at its lowest point, closest to the barrier, and gradually becomes more shallow.
The steeplechase has always produced countless accidental (and many intentional) water plunges–including the occasional cannonball. When injuries are avoided, you’ll often see these wipeouts in YouTube fail compilations.
Hill’s crash
Photographer Darby Winter captured the moment in a stunning stop-motion clip composed of 68 frames, following Hill’s fall from takeoff to impact. Another photographer, Howard Lao, also documented the crash, sharing his photos with the caption, “Maybe one of the craziest steeple races I’ve ever captured! The flip is crazy!”Â
Another popular Instagram account, Art But Make It Sports, hilariously compared Hill’s upside-down, mid-air pose to that of the Baroque painting, The Martyrdom of St. Peter, by Gaspar de Crayer, 1664-69.
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Hill collided with the barrier three minutes and forty seconds into the roughly nine-minute race. Although he got back on his feet and continued, he eventually withdrew from the competition with two laps remaining.
Crashes in the steeplechase aren’t uncommon, and often, runners who fall aren’t able to continue racing.
Other serious collisions
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, world record holder Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia was carried out of the men’s steeplechase final on a stretcher after a brutal fall. He hit his head, lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital. Girma had been poised to challenge the lead; he had won silver behind Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali at Tokyo 2020, who went on to win again in Paris.
Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali wins back-to-back Olympic men’s steeplechase gold
Another infamous steeplechase mishap happened at the 2007 IAAF Track & Field World Championships in Osaka, Japan, where Austria’s Gunther Weidlinger tripped and slammed face-first into a barrier, taking down two other runners in the process. He, too, could not continue and was hospitalized.
So, what is the most dangerous event?
The steeplechase has major hazards, but so do other track and field events. Pole vaulting, where athletes soar and fall from heights of up to six metres (or more, when it comes to Mondo Duplantis), certainly carries risks. Some competitors even wear helmets.
Throwing events–javelin, shot put, discus and hammer–can even endanger spectators or officials, thanks to the occasional stray projectile. Even hurdles and the triple jump, which don’t seem especially treacherous, can result in bruises, whacked ankles or serious joint injuries from repeated pounding during takeoff.
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