The following is excerpted from the Deseret News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Cover image: screenshot via X.
Against all odds, Kenneth Rooks, who burst onto the track scene seemingly out of nowhere only one year ago, won the silver medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Wednesday in Paris.
After running at the back of the pack for much of the race, Rooks took the lead with less than a lap to go and didn’t give it up until the final 80 meters, when defending Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali edged ahead of him en route to another Olympic victory.
El Bakkali, who has now won the last four world championships, including two Olympic Games, produced a time of 8:06.05. Rooks was second in 8:06.41, making him the second-fastest American ever and dropping his personal record by a whopping nine seconds. Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot was third in 8:06.47.
“It was awesome,” Rooks told the Deseret News shortly before he had to report to routine post-race drug testing. “After the race, I was like, what the heck just happened? That was amazing. Incredible. I was just trying to take it all in. I’m super grateful to share this experience with my family, my wife, my in-laws and Coach (Ed) Eyestone.”
Rooks’ run ranks among the greatest Olympic performances ever by a current or former BYU track and field athlete. Alma Richards won the gold medal in the high jump in the 1912 Games. Frank Fredericks won silver medals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Ralph Mann won the silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles in the 1972 Olympics. And now Rooks has won the silver medal in the 2024 Games.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
