Paris, Aug 5
Renowned distance runner Avinash Sable made history on Monday by becoming the first Indian to reach the final of the 3000m Steeplechase after finishing fifth in heat 2 of round 1 after clocking a time of 8:15.43 at the Stade de France here.
Avinash Sable, currently ranked 15th in the world finished behind Mohamed Tindouft, who clocked a personal best of 8:10.62 in the event, World No.4 Ethiopia's Samuel Firewu, World No.3 Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot and World No.9 Japan's Ryuji Miura.
The 29-year-old Indian took an interesting strategy at the beginning of the race and set a solid pace. He surged into the lead till near the 1000m mark. Soon after he was overtaken by Abraham and Samuel. Sable remained in the third or fourth spot and then made a timely dash, which saw him move up to the second spot.
However, the final dash saw the Moroccan finish first and Sable slip to fifth. But the early lead had created enough separation for him to secure a place in the final. Sable is known for his famous 'kick' in the home stretch. But on Monday, his strategy was to set the initial pace and capitalise on the early advantage.
Despite the comfortable lead, the army man was seen slowing down and looking at the gap behind him in the final stretch which saw USA's Matthew Wilkinson almost pipping the Indian for the final qualification berth.
The final involving 15 runners will be held late on Wednesday evening (Aug 7), which would be around 1:13 am on Thursday (IST).