Avinash Sable becomes first Indian man to qualify for the 3000m steeplechase final in Paris Olympics 2024

Avinash Sable made history as the first Indian man to qualify for the 3000m steeplechase final, securing fifth place in his heat. However, quartermiler Kiran Pahal was unable to automatically advance to the semi-finals in the women’s 400m, finishing seventh in her heat at the Paris Olympics on Monday.

Sable, easily the most decorated track and field athlete after Neeraj Chopra in the current contingent, timed 8:15.43 minutes to finish fifth in the second heat to make it to the final round.

As per rule, the top five athletes in each of the three heats qualify for the final.

However, Sable’s heat timing was well below his best effort of 8:09.91 minutes, which he had clocked at the Paris Diamond League last month.

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Sable’s Strong Performance in 3000m Steeplechase; Pahal Misses Semi-Final Spot

Morocco’s Mohamed Tindouft won Sable’s heat with a time of 8:10.62 minutes, followed by Ethiopia’s Samuel Firewu in 8:11.61 minutes. Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot finished third with 8:12.02 minutes, while Japan’s Ryuji Miura was fourth at 8:12.41 minutes. Among all 15 finalists, Sable ranked fifth, as the second heat had the fastest timings. Although Sable led the first two laps, he later slowed down slightly, focusing on a more technical race to secure a spot in the final. Despite the slowdown, he remained with the leading pack throughout. On the same day, Kiran Pahal, who celebrated her 24th birthday, finished with a time of 52.51 seconds, which fell short of her season’s and personal best of 50.92 seconds.

World champion Marileidy Paulino of Dominica won the heat with a time of 49.42, followed by Aaliyah Butler (50.52) of USA and Susanne Gogl-Walli (50.67) of Austria.

Top three in each of the six heats advanced to semifinal. All the others — except for DNS (Did Not Start), DNF (Did Not Finish) and DQ (Disqualified)– moved to the repechage round to be held on Tuesday.

Pahal had made direct qualification to Paris Olympics after clocking her personal best of 50.92 seconds in the National Inter-State Championships in June, A repechage round was introduced in Paris Olympics to all individual track events from 200m to 1500m, including the hurdles events. The new format replaced the earlier one where some athletes advanced to the semifinals through fastest times in addition to the top placings in the first round heats.

Instead, only the athletes in the top placings will get automatic qualification and all the remaining will get a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals by participating in repechage heats.

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