The men's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, had an entry list of 33 competitors, with three qualifying heats (33 runners) and two semifinals (26) before the final (13) took place on Friday September 30, 1988.

He was marked, a few metres back, by William Van Dijck with the rest of the field strung out behind.

With about three laps to go, Kenyans Julius Kariuki and Peter Koech seemed to jog casually into position next to Van Dijck with Mark Rowland gamely holding on.

With two laps to go, the Kenyan duo broke it open, with Panetta disappearing back into the field.

With the three-man break clear and one lap to go, Kariuki departed from the team tactics and took off, opening up a 10-metre lead around the penultimate turn with Koech chasing.