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Belz through to steeplechase final

Christian Belz: flat on his back after his historic run in Edmonton Keystone

Christian Belz has qualified for the final in the 3,000-metre steeplechase at the world athletics championships in Edmonton, Canada, becoming the first Swiss ever to reach a world championship final in the discipline.

In the second round of the men’s 3000-metre steeplechase, Belz finished seventh with a time of 8:31.57 minutes. This put him in 15th place overall, which enabled him to qualify for the final on Wednesday night.

The 26-year-old was rated 21st of 25 athletes when he started the race, but managed to leave six of his higher-rated opponents behind.

At the start of the race Belz, whose Swiss record is at 8:22.24 minutes, managed to keep up with his opponents but was overtaken by six athletes two rounds before the finish.

swissinfo with agencies

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