Praught advances to 3000m steeplechase final after appeal

Finally giving up on it, Diro ripped the shoe off completely and threw it away, took a few steps, then removed her right sock, too.

Ethiopian Etenesh Diro defied the pain with a resolute display of Olympic spirit to finish her 3000 metre steeplechase heat despite running with only one shoe for much of the race.

Ethipian’s Etenesh Diro fought to qualify for the 3,000m steeplechase semi-finals, despite losing a shoe part way through the race. She managed to pass up many of those runners and finished seventh, collapsing in tears as she crossed the finish line.

After the race Diro dropped to the ground in disappointment as competitors offered their support. The IAAF decided that she had done enough to earn her place in Monday morning’s final. Having initially struggled to put the shoe back on, she made a decision to resume running with one bare foot. She thus ran the last two laps taking off for the barrier jumps from her bare foot, and landing on the one spike she had left on.

The International Association of Athletics Federations also cleared Ireland’s Sara Louise Treacy and Jamaica’s Aisha Praught to run in the final after reviewing video replays of the race following protests by their teams.

Praught fell after another athlete stopped to fix her shoe right in front of her with the Jamaican eventually finishing eighth in 9:35.79.

As for her own shoes, Praught said: “I tie them very tightly”. That’s when I fell. Hyvin Jepkemoi of Kenya won the heat in 9:24.61.