Avinash Sable, the accomplished 3000m steeplechaser, became the first Indian track athlete to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Sable achieved this feat with a sixth-place finish at the Silesia Diamond League meet.
Clocking a time of 8 minutes and 11.63 seconds, just outside his national record of 8:11.20, Sable comfortably surpassed the Paris Olympics qualifying mark of 8:15.00.
The Olympics qualification period began on July 1, 2023, and will continue until June 30, 2024.
Moroccan world and Olympic champion El Bakkali Soufiane secured victory in the race, setting a meet record time of 8:03.16. Kenyans Abraham Kibiwot (8:08.03) and Leonard Kipkemoi Bett (8:09.45) finished in second and third place, respectively.
Sable's qualification for the Paris Olympics makes him the sixth Indian athlete and the first track athlete from the country to achieve this milestone. He joins four 20km race walkers (Akshadeep Singh, Vikas Singh, and Paramjeet Singh Bisht in the men's event and Priyanka Goswami in the women's event) and long jumper Murali Sreeshankar on the list of Indians who have qualified for the Paris Olympics thus far.
While race walking and long jump are road and field events respectively, the 3000m steeplechase is a track event. This marks Sable's third Diamond League meet of the year, and it stands as his best-ever performance in a Diamond League leg in terms of timing.
In previous Diamond League events this year, Sable finished 10th in Rabat, Morocco, with a time of 8:17.18, and secured fifth place in Stockholm, clocking 8:21.88. Last year, he recorded a time of 8:12.48 to finish fifth in Rabat.
Additionally, Sable has already qualified for the World Championships, which will take place from August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
Also read: Yuzvendra Chahal breaks silence over RCB's decision to release him
(With PTI inputs)