Athletics: Athlete takes wrong turn during steeplechase final at world athletics championships

Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya (L) misses the water jump in the Women's 3000 metres Steeplechase final. Photo / Youtube.

We've seen jockeys get the lap count wrong in horse races before but we have new entrant for bizarre sporting bloopers.

In the women's 3000m steeplechase final Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech was in the lead when she forgot to take the water jump.

The water jump is situated inside the track at the 200m mark but at the start of the event the runners don't go over it.

It is cordoned off by witches hats to ensure there are no mistakes but on the second lap it is in play.

Chepkoech forgot and stayed on the track before realising her mistake as she was almost alongside the jump.

She then quickly backtracked and completed the jump which left her 50 metres behind the rest of the field.

Chepkoech, who finished fourth at the Rio Olympics, quickly made up the ground and put herself in the medal frame for the rest of the race.

Ironically she started to fade leading up to the water jump on the final lap.

Australia's Genevieve LaCaze wasn't surprised by the brain fade.

"It happens too often," she said. "It happens more and more in championship races because everyone's on edge.

"It barely ever happens in Diamond Leagues because you're just running for a time."

American Emma Coburn surged away over the final stages to take gold and end Kenya's recent dominance of the event.

Coburn went from third to first at the water jump to race away with the world title in a championships record of 9min04.03sec.

Her American teammate Courtney Frerichs took silver (9:03.77 sec) with Kenya's Hyvin Jepkemoi getting bronze (9:04.03 sec)

LaCaze got caught up in a fall early in the race where she had to hurdle another athlete which cost her badly and she faded to finish 12th in a season's best 9:26.25 sec.