Ugandan Benjamin Kiplagat had to wait till the end of the third heat of the 3000m steeplechase to progress to the final due Sunday evening.
The national record holder led for the first 1000m of heat 1 in 2:24.67 but with two laps to go, he fell down after leaping over a hurdle. This left him in the middle pack and pulled off sixth position in a time of 8:18.44.
His heat was fastest and Frenchman Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad took top spot in 8:16.23.
“Two hours to go 4 my heats now, oh God give me strength to make it to finals” said Kiplagat’s last Facebook post prior to the water jump action.
Men’s 3000m steeplechase
Heat 1 – Results
1. Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad FRA 8:16.23
2. Evan Jager (USA) 8:16.61
3. Abel Kiprop Mutai (Kenya) 8:17.70
4. Tarik Langat Akdag (Turkey) 8:17.85 (SB)
5. Nahom Mesfin (Ethiopia) 8:18.16 (SB)
6. Benjamin Kiplagat (Uganda) 8:18.44