MUMBAI: With another season's best effort, India's Commonwealth Games 3000m steeplechase silver medallist Avinash Sable finished sixth in Silesia Diamond League meet in Chorzow, Poland and achieved the qualifying standard for next year's Olympic Games in Paris.
Sable clocked a season-best of 8:11.63 to finish sixth in the men's steeplechase event, though his effort on Sunday was good enough to achieve the qualifying standard for the Paris Olympic Games, which is 8:15.00.
Though the army man came up with a superb performance on Sunday, his effort was short of the Indian star's personal best and the national record of 8:11.20.
This was the third Diamond League meet for Sable this season. He had finished 10th in the Rabat leg and then fifth in the Stockholm leg. The 8:11.63 at Silesia was also Sable’s best timing in Diamond League competitions.
On Sunday, Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, the reigning Olympic, world and Diamond League champion, won the race with a meet-record timing of 8:03.16. Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot, who pipped Sable to the Commonwealth Games 2022 gold last year, finished second with 8:08.03.
Leonard Bett, another Kenyan, finished third, clocking 8:09.45. Ethiopia’s Abraham Sime (8:10.68) and Benjamin Kigen of Kenya (8:11.12) wrapped up the top five.