Kenneth Rooks talks about fall he suffered in Poland as medical evaluations continue

After spending the last few weeks in Europe, Kenneth Rooks returned to Provo this week with an Olympic silver medal and an injured shoulder.
Rooks tripped and fell over a barrier in the 3,000-meter steeplechase during a Diamond League meet in Silesia, Poland, Sunday. He landed heavily on his right shoulder during a competition that featured a rematch of the top six finishers in the Olympic final. It took him several seconds before he could resume running. He finished in 16th place, holding his arm as he crossed the finish.
“I fell with three laps to go,” Rooks told the Deseret News. “I somehow lost focus and hit my lead leg and fell with all my weight on my right shoulder. It was a solid hit and it took me a bit to get up. I was a bit disoriented for a moment because of how it hurt. I still got up and finished, but didn’t swing my right arm because it hurt the rest of the time.”
Rooks was taken by ambulance from the stadium to a local hospital.
According to Rooks, X-rays found no broken bones, but an MRI revealed a grade 1-2 tear of the AC ligaments in his right shoulder (the ligaments that connect the collarbone to the shoulder). It requires a recovery period of six to eight weeks.
“I anticipate I will run sooner than that,” said Rooks. “It could be up to three months to be 100% for my shoulder, but I don’t need it to be 100% to run. I can just start running whenever it feels good to go. Running won’t damage my shoulder any more. I am glad my legs aren’t hurt.”
Rooks won’t be able to practice the steeplechase, which requires hurdling heavy wooden hurdles and a water jump, until his shoulder is fully recovered.
Rooks finished with a time of 8:35.19, some 29 seconds slower than his time in the Olympic final, when he finished second to two-time Olympic champion El Bakkali Soufiane of Morocco. El Bakkali won Sunday’s race in Silesia, as well.
Falls are one of the hazards of the steeplechase, which requires runners to hurdle 28 heavy wooden barriers and seven water jumps. In the Olympic final, world record holder Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia fell hard over the penultimate barrier while chasing Rooks on the backstretch of the final lap, his head slamming into the track. He left the track on a stretcher and was hospitalized.
Rooks himself fell during the 2023 U.S. national championships, just two laps into the 7 1/2-lap race. After rolling over the barrier and somersaulting twice on the track, he came back to win the race, which won him headlines around the country.
The race in Silesia was to be the last of the year for Rooks, regardless of the outcome. He has had an eventful 12-month run on the track, winning an NCAA championship, two U.S. championships, the Olympic trials and an Olympic silver medal.
What’s next for Rooks? “Just getting back into school at BYU for my last year in my civil engineering degree,” he says.