Paris • Remember that time Kenneth Rooks tumbled over the barrier at the 2023 national championships and roared back from 30 meters behind to claim the men’s steeplechase title?
That barely registers as an effort compared to Rooks’ silver-medal heroics Wednesday night on the Olympic stage at Paris’ Stade de France.
Rooks, one of seven BYU runners competing in Paris, spent the first two-thirds of the 3,000-meter men’s steeplechase race at the back of the pack. He was so far from the leaders that even on a wide pan, the TV cameras couldn’t pick him up. Those leaders, by the way, included defending gold medalist Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco and a contingent from Kenya, which had won all but three Olympic gold medals in men’s steeplechase since 1968.
The USA, on the other hand, had garnered just two medals in 40 years prior to Rooks’ silver performance. Brian Diemer took bronze in 1984 and Evan Jager claimed silver in 2016.
Yet when the bell sounded for the final lap, to the surprise of the leaders, there was Rooks, charging into the lead.
(Ashley Landis | AP) Kenneth Rooks, of the United States, clears an obstacle during the men’s 3000 meters steeplechase final, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
“I must admit my focus was on El Bakkali and [Ethiopian world record holder Lamecha] Girma. I didn’t think much about Kenneth,” said bronze medalist Kibiwot Abraham. “That was a surprise.”
Perhaps the only people not surprised by Rooks’ appearance at the front of the pack were Rooks and his coach, Ed Eyestone.
“My goal was to conserve as much energy as possible and stay within striking distance,” Rooks said. “I was nervous, especially with where I positioned myself. But we were all in it, especially as the race got later.”
Eyestone, the head of BYU’s men’s track and cross country program, admitted that for the first three laps, he wasn’t so sure the race plan they’d made was a prudent one.
“When you see the entire pack and you see your athlete, with what may be their only shot at the Olympics, intentionally kind of holding back,” Eyestone said. ” Then you kind of wonder if you’ve reined him in a little too much.”
(Ed Eyestone) BYU track coach Ed Eyestone, left, celebrates a silver-medal performance with former Cougar Kenneth Rooks, who surprised many in Wednesday’s steeplechase in Paris, France.
Slowly, surely, though Rooks started to pick off other runners, often passing them two- to three-deep on a corner. He remained as deep as eighth in the 15-man race as they splashed down through the water feature near the end of the penultimate lap. Then, as the bell sounded, he dashed — no, “bolted,” as Eyestone would put it — to the front.
“That’s what got us all excited, because not only did he take the lead, he gapped the field momentarily,” Eyestone said. “And that was when the adrenaline was really pumping. Coach’s heart is really racing, and [Rooks] is flying down that back stretch.”
The tall, lithe El Bakkali overtook Rooks on the final barrier. Yet Rooks, his face wrought with determination, fought off a challenge from Abraham in the closing meters to clinch the silver. He shaved 9 seconds off his personal-best time from May to finish in 8 minutes, 6.41 seconds. That time would have beaten El Bakkali (8:06.05) for the gold in Tokyo, where he ran 8:08.9.
(Natacha Pisarenko | AP) Soufiane El Bakkali, of Morocco, right, Kenneth Rooks, of the United States, center, and Abraham Kibiwot, of Kenya, competes in the men’s 3000-meters steeplechase final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
“The Olympic Games is the biggest competition on the map,” Eyestone said, “and he came within .4 seconds of winning it.”
Girma, the world record holder, might have also challenged for the gold if he hadn’t fallen amidst the jostling that was going on as athletes prepared to jump the final barrier. He was taken off the track on a stretcher. No further update on his health was available.
“It’s unreal, a dream,” Rooks said. “It’s been awesome to take it all in.”
Park City resident Grant Fisher kicked off track and field at the Paris Olympics with a rare medal in the men’s 10,000 meters. That plus Rooks’ medal might prove to be good springboards for Conner Mantz and Clayton Young. The two former BYU teammates will represent the USA in Saturday’s marathon alongside another BYU alum, Rory Linkletter.
Two other former Cougars, Courtney Wayment in the 3,000 steeplechase and Whittni Orton Morgan in the women’s 5,000 have also been on the purple track, and both reached the final. BYU sophomore James Corrigan also raced this week in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase but didn’t make it out of opening heats.