Bernard Barmasai

Bernard Barmasai (born 6 May 1974 in Keiyo) is an athlete from Kenya. He specialised in steeplechase running but is nowadays a marathoner.

He set the new 3000 metres steeplechase world record of 7:55.72 on 24 August 1997 in Cologne. The record was broken by Brahim Boulami from Morocco in 2001. The time survived as a Kenyan Record until July 2011, when Brimin Kipruto ran a new African Record time of 7:53.64.

Barmasai won the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships

.

Barmasai suffered from knee injuries and was mostly sidelined in 2002 and 2003. This prompted him to quit steeplechase and switch to marathons.^[2]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event
Representing Kenya
1995	All-Africa Games	Harare, Zimbabwe	1st	3000 m st
1997	World Cross Country Championships	Turin, Italy	6th	Long race
	World Cross Country Championships	Turin, Italy	1st	Team
	World Championships	Athens, Greece	3rd	3000 m st
	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Fukuoka, Japan	3rd	3000 m st
1998	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	2nd	3000 m st
	Goodwill Games	New York, United States	1st	3000 m st
	African Championships	Dakar, Senegal	1st	3000 m st
	IAAF World Cup	Johannesburg, South Africa	2nd	3000 m st
1999	IAAF Grand Prix Final	Munich, Germany	1st	3000 m st
2000	Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	4th	3000 m st
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	3rd	3000 m st

Records
Preceded by Wilson Boit Kipketer	Men's Steeplechase World Record Holder 24 August 1997 – 24 August 2001	Succeeded by Brahim Boulami
Sporting positions
Preceded by John Kosgei	Men's 3,000 m Steeple Best Year Performance 1997 – 2000	Succeeded by Brahim Boulami