Avinash Sable qualifies for 2024 Paris Olympics after finishing sixth at Silesia Diamond League
Expert 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable finished sixth with his second-best time at the Silesia Diamond League competition on Sunday. Sable, 28, finished in 8 minutes, 11 seconds, slightly shy of his national record, but far faster than the 8 minutes, 15 seconds required to qualify.
The qualifying period for the Olympics started on July 1, 2023, and it will last through June 30, 2024. El Bakkali Soufiane, a Moroccan and Olympic champion, won the event in a meet-record time of 8:03.16, followed by Kenyans Abraham Kibiwot (8:08.03) and Leonard Kipkemoi Bett (8:09.45) in that order.
Sable qualified for the Paris Olympics as the first track athlete from the nation and the sixth Indian overall. He joins long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and four other Indians who have already qualified for the Paris Olympics: men's event participants Akshadeep Singh, Vikas Singh, and Paramjeet Singh Bisht, and women's event competitors Priyanka Goswami and Priyanka Goswami.
In terms of timings, this was Sable's best-ever performance at the Diamond Leagues. He had previously placed fifth in Stockholm (8:21.88) and 10th in Rabat, Morocco, with times of 8:17.18 and 8:21.88, respectively. He had run 8:12.48 the year before to get fifth in Rabat.
The World Championships will be held in Budapest, Hungary, from August 19–27, and Sable has already qualified.