Kemboi DQ'd from Steeple

I think it occurred right before the water jump (2nd time). The French guy was right on the rail and Kemboi passed him on the inside right before the steeple.

minong wrote:

Mekhissi Mahiedin awarded bronze, decision is final.

Kemboi cut right in front of Jager off the first hurdle the last lap, almost caused him to fall, and could have put him out of the race.

Simpson did the same thing to Rowbury in the 1500m, but unfortunately got away with it.

Amor Ben Yahia of Tunisia also DQd by the same rule.

minong wrote:

French protest.

- wrote:

The DQ makes sense, but Mekhissi benabbad has to be the biggest A-hole on the track, and the fact that he was clearly cool with with sneaking in on a technicality is lame.

runnerdnerd wrote:

Why didn't they just install a rail? Even D3 colleges have a rail through the steeple chase section. Having no rail in an olympic final is just asking for trouble. It is much easier for an accidental lane violation to happen with cones than a rail. This meet is being run by a bunch of amateurs.

Not true. I ran steeple for a major D-1 school and we did not have a rail on the inside of the water jump. In fact ,I have steepled on probably 20 different tracks, and other than U of Oregon there were no inside rails through the water jump.

I went back and watched the video. London 2012 did not have an inside rail and neither did Beijing 2008.

I'm french. It's the french federation who has made appeal.

From the moment Mekhissi saw Kemboi cross the line, Mekhissi declared he has raced as if Kemboi was eliminated. So he did not fight for 3rd place because for him he was already third !

And rules are rules, in this race another athlete has been disqualified for the same reason : Ben Yahia.

And it was a revenge for Mekhissi too because he has lost gold medal for DQ at european championship in 2014. And in 2011 WC, Mekhissi was pushed by another Kenyan, and this last was not disqualified, mekhissi finished third.

Sourced wrote:

Yeah I would be embarrassed to be Benabad. It is one thing if the cut ACTUALLY makes a difference (e.g. that you lost by .5 seconds or something) but he was thoroughly beaten. Pu$$y.

He was holding up 3 fingers after crossing the line (as if he was third) so he must have thought it was a serious infraction.

This. It would be one thing if the officials themselves caught the violation, DQed Kembio and Benabad sheepishly took the bronze, humbly, knowing that he didn't really earn it, but taking it because the rules are the rules. I would have no problems with that. Or, as stated above, Kemboi beat Benabad by a lean at the line, so the slightly shorter difference actually mattered.

didn't this dude get silver to kemboi's gold the last two olympics?

rules are rules wrote:

smile wrote:

That's too bad. Mekhissi is a jerk and I was happy to see him out of the medals. He pushed a teenage girl after a race once. Not a good person.

No, you're right. Kemboi is such a sportsman. He definitely deserves a medal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7ADqt6eu-I

Well that helps me to not feel too sorry for Kemboi, but I wish that just about anyone other than Benabbad had been the beneficiary of the DQ.

D-Nice wrote:

Sourced wrote:

Yeah I would be embarrassed to be Benabad. It is one thing if the cut ACTUALLY makes a difference (e.g. that you lost by .5 seconds or something) but he was thoroughly beaten. Pu$$y.

He was holding up 3 fingers after crossing the line (as if he was third) so he must have thought it was a serious infraction.

This. It would be one thing if the officials themselves caught the violation, DQed Kembio and Benabad sheepishly took the bronze, humbly, knowing that he didn't really earn it, but taking it because the rules are the rules. I would have no problems with that. Or, as stated above, Kemboi beat Benabad by a lean at the line, so the slightly shorter difference actually mattered.

Okay, I've read some more and it doesn't seem to be the French guy's doing. Still, since he was so far back, it's kind of an empty medal. But, those are the rules, and if the officials themselves started the DQ process, I have no problems.

"Kerb" is the British spelling, for chrissakes. Like "tyre" and "aluminium" and "humour." And it's just as phonetically accurate as "curb."

Lame

He should refuse it. I hope he is shunned by his fellow competitors.

If was even close to being a deciding issue...then, fine but this was inconsequential.

Hope he enjoys his worthless medal

Since this seems to be an issue in the Steeple, maybe it should only count as a DQ if the difference made actually impacted the results. But I wouldn't know what that difference would be.

Did Mekhissi keep his shirt on this time?

minong wrote:

Mekhissi Mahiedin awarded bronze, decision is final.

Look at the bottom picture of Kemboi on the "Farewell to the GOAT" item on the home page! He's wearing Mekhissi Benabbad's shirt.

Remember Shawn Crawford giving his Olympic silver medal to Churandy Martina after Martina was DQed for a line infraction? Not much chance of that happening here.

We have an article up now blasting the decision by the French to protest and for the IAAF for upholding the protest:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/08/olympic-debacle-french-forgotten-olympics-supposed-ezekiel-kemboi-dqd-mens-steeple-protest/

Whatever happened to sportsmanship?

French protest.

Editor's note: We have an article up now blasting the decision by the French to protest and for the IAAF for upholding the protest:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/08/olympic-debacle-french-forgotten-olympics-supposed-ezekiel-kemboi-dqd-mens-steeple-protest/

Whatever happened to sportsmanship?

You are spot on. I hope Kemboi comes back for the world championships just to beat Mekhissi and rub it in his face.

Are there any pics available to see the infraction? Did it happen more than once?