Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai outstripped the field to win the women’s Olympic 3000m steeplechase gold on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Ugandan timed 9min 01.45sec at the Olympic Stadium, outsprinting American Courtney Frerichs with 250 metres to go to win comfortably.
Frerichs claimed silver in 9:04.79 with Kenyan Hyvin Kiyeng taking bronze (9:05.39).
Peruth Chemutai becones the first ever Uganda Woman to win gold at the Olympics.
Who is Peruth Chemutai?
According to Wikipedia, Peruth Chemutai (born July 10, 1999) is a Ugandan steeplechase runner.
She has won the gold medal at the 2021 Summer Olympics in the women’s 3000 metres steeplechase race and also competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in that event; her time of 9:31.03 in the heats did not qualify her for the final.
Hailing from the Bukwo District, she took up running in 2013 after attending the District Athletics Championships in Bukwo as a casual fan.
At the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Apia, she won silver medals in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres.
She also competed in the junior women’s race at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, finishing in 7th place.
In 2016, she finished in 7th place in the final of the women’s 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships held in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
At the 2018 World Junior Championships held in mid-July, she claimed a notable silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase.
A week later, at the Monaco diamond league, she set a national record with a time of 9:07.94
In 2019, she competed in the senior women’s race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark.
She finished in 5th place