Lamecha Girma taken to hospital, conscious following scary fall during Men's 3000m Steeplechase, per report

Ethiopian runner Lamecha Girma regained consciousness before being taken to a hospital for the fall he took during the men’s 3,000-meter Steeplechase at the Paris Olympics, according to multiple French outlets. Girma took a hard fall while attempting to clear a barrier on the backside of the final lap.

The 23-year-old was running down the back straightaway when he leaped to clear the hurdle, according to The Athletic. Girma seemed to clip the barrier with his right knee and fell onto his upper body. Peacock broadcast commentator Leigh Diffey noted minutes later that Girma was motionless. He was later seen carried off the track on a stretcher while wearing a neck brace.

“In 40 years of commentating running and the steeplechase, I have never seen a fall that heavy,” Diffey said before signing off.

It was a very tough break for Girma who was looking to win his second Olympic medal. He competed in the same event at the Tokoyo Olympics and won the silver medal. Girma currently holds the world record in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase with a time of 7:52.11.

Lamecha Girma talks about breaking the world record

In a 2023 interview with Hannah Borenstein of Citius Mag, Girma was asked when he first began thinking about breaking the world record. “I started thinking about breaking the record around 2021,” he said. “I knew, with the timing of the big races, that 2023 could be a good year to try for it. My brothers also told me they knew I could break the record and internally I knew I could, also.”

He was then asked about how he was able to stay focused before breaking the record, which happened in Paris in 2023. “Before breaking the record, I could only think about breaking the record! I was telling the journalists there that I would break the record so I had to be thinking about breaking the record all day,” Girma explained. “In a way, that added some pressure. But because I said it aloud I knew I must do it. Then, when I broke it I was of course happy but also relieved. Because I had been talking about it so much it was like a weight had been lifted.”