Avinash Sable peaking at right time, breaks national record

Paris, July 7

Avinash Sable showed that he’s peaking at the right time before the Paris Olympics as he broke his own 3000m steeplechase national record while finishing sixth at the prestigious Diamond League meet, clocking 8 minutes and 9.91 seconds here today. The 29-year-old Sable bettered his earlier mark of 8:11.20, which he had clocked in 2022.

Abrham Sime of Ethiopia finished first with a personal best time of 8:02.36 after a photo finish with Kenya’s Amos Serem (8:02.36). Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallist and gold winner at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was third with a time of 8:06.70.

With this performance, Sable returned to his record-breaking ways after he smashed his own national mark two years ago while winning silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

This was the 10th national record-breaking performance from Sable, who hails from a humble farmer’s family at Mandwa village in Beed district of Maharashtra.

He was seemingly struggling this season having run just two 3000m steeplechase races, clocking 8:21.85 at Portland and 8:31.75 in Panchkula, both in June.

Sable, the reigning Asian Games gold medallist, thus improved by around 12 seconds from his best effort of the season.

In men’s javelin throw, Olympics-bound Kishore Jena continued his struggles as he finished eighth with an effort of 78.10m. He has a personal best of 87.54m and a season’s best of 80.84m. Reigning Olympics and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra opted out of this meet apparently due to an adductor niggle that has been troubling him for the past couple of months.

Julian Weber of Germany won the top position with a throw of 85.91m while former world champion Anderson Peters (85.19m) of Grenada and Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch (85.04m) of Czech Republic were second and third, respectively.

Records fall

Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh set a new world record in the women’s high jump, clearing 2.10m to break a mark that has stood since 1987. The 22-year-old world champion brushed off suggestions though that the jump had made her the clear favourite for the Paris Olympics. “I am looking forward to the Olympic Games here. I am sure it will be a great competition with an even better atmosphere, but I know it will be hard and very competitive,” she said.

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon has set a women’s 1,500m world record by clocking 3:49.04. She broke her own previous mark of 3:49.11 that she set in June last year in Florence. — Agencies