The history books will record it as the first track gold medal for a New Zealander at the World Athletics Championships.
Beamish yesterday claimed a stunning gold in the 3000m steeplechase in Tokyo, dipping to defeat a shocked Soufiane El Bakkali on the line and deny the Moroccan a fifth successive global title.
El Bakkali, twice Olympic and world champion, seemed on course for the hat-trick when he hit the front at the bell and after surging clear seemed to think he had it in the bag.
Beamish, however, renowned for his late kick, had other ideas and pushed on to snatch it on the line in 8min 33.88sec, beating the champion by 0.07sec.
It completed a remarkable week for the Kiwi after he fell with only a lap to go in his heat, getting stamped on the head in the process, but recovered to qualify.
Kenyan Edmund Serum, 17, who has been working with marathon superstar Eliud Kipchoge, claimed bronze in 8min 34.56sec.
Beamish’s win was a big comeback — not just in the race itself, but from a frustrating period in his career.
He has endured an injury-plagued 18 months since his memorable 1500m victory at the 2024 world indoor championships and resumed running only in July after his most recent setback, a femoral stress reaction.
Before that, he had been limited to training on the elliptical and stationary bike in heat sessions at his training base in Boulder, Colorado, to maintain fitness.
The 28-year-old from Whanganui has built a global reputation for his dramatic late-race heroics since his collegiate years in the United States.
A cult figure in distance running circles, his finishes are affectionately known as "Textbook George" for their near-perfect timing.
Nobody outside his family probably had Beamish down for a medal, let alone gold, as he arrived in Tokyo as the 31st-fastest man in the event this year, but a funereal early pace played into his hands.
It seemed to be a victory parade for Bakkali but he lost momentum after lightly touching the last barrier and Beamish seized his opportunity in stunning fashion.
"This was a turn-up, wasn’t it? That was pretty unreal," a smiling Beamish said.
"I just gave myself a shot in the last 200m. I knew I had it in me tonight. I only knew I’d win 1m before the finish and that was enough.
"It’s a first track gold for New Zealand at a world championships, which is pretty cool."
Beamish was relishing the white-hot atmosphere in the Tokyo stadium.
"It’s my dream. I’m just trying to soak it in and enjoy it as much as I can."
Bakkali, 29, had almost forgotten what it is like to lose.
"It’s very difficult for me to accept this result but I have to because this is high performance sport," the Moroccan said.
As further evidence of the surprise nature of the result, he did not even know Beamish’s name, but was magnanimous in defeat.
"I congratulated the athlete from New Zealand. I had good tactics but I clipped the last barrier and lost balance. It was not the result I wanted, but sport wins tonight."
Meanwhile, Mondo Duplantis broke the pole vault world record for the 14th time with a jump of 6.30m on his third attempt as he secured a third straight world title.
The gold medal was already secure for the American-born Swede when he had the bar raised a centimetre higher than the record height of 6.29m he managed in Budapest last month.
He failed by the narrowest of margins at his first two attempts but, roared on by a captivated crowd at the National Stadium, slid over on the third with the bar giving a slight wobble before settling. — Reuters/Luke Geddes
