Paris (France): Indian Avinash Sable qualified for the final of the men’s 3000m steeplechase on Monday, August 5. Sable finished at the fifth spot in the heats with a timing of 8:15.43. Sable took an early lead in the race till the 1000m mark. He was leading the pack in the company of Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot.
The Indian dropped to the third position later in the race with Kibiwot and Ethiopian Samuel Fireru taking the charge. He focused on conversing his energy and fell back a little but stayed in the leading pack of the five runners. He was overtaken by four athletes in the final hundred metres in the race but ended up comfortably in fifth place. He turned around multiple times in the last few metres to check if anybody was near him and then finished the race with ease.
Before the start of the Paris Games, Avinash had shattered the national record for the 10th time. He clocked a time of 8:09.91 in the Paris Diamond League on Sunday.
The top five athletes from each heat made it to the final in the Paris 2024 Olympics and so Sable concluded the race with a calculated finish. The men’s 3000m steeplechase event final is scheduled to take place on August 8.
Four years ago, Sable failed to qualify after finishing seventh in the heats but he was the fastest non-qualifier across all heats. Sable had qualified for the Paris Olympics by meeting the direct entry standard of 8:15.00 Silesia Diamond League in Poland with a timing of 8:11.63.
