Avinash Sable (born 13 September 1994) is an Indian track and field athlete who specializes in 3000 metres steeplechase. He holds the national record of 8:09.91, set at the 2024 Paris Diamond League where he finished at the 6th spot.[3] It was the tenth time he had set the national record.[4]
 Sable at the 2020 Summer Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Avinash Sable[1] |
| Born | 13 September 1994 Mandwa, Maharashtra, India[2] |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Service |  Indian Army |
| Rank |  Subedar |
| Unit | Mahar Regiment |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | 3000 metres steeplechase |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests |
|
Medal record | |
| Updated on 5 August 2024 | |
Early life
editSable was born on 13 September 1994 in Mandwa, Beed district, Maharashtra, into a family of farmers. From age six, he would run or walk the 6 km (3.7 mi) distance between home and school as there was no transport facility in his village.[5][6] While attending junior college, he worked on brick kilns and construction sites to support his family.[7]
After completing 12th grade, he joined the 5 Mahar regiment of Indian Army, with postings at the Siachen Glacier in 2013–2014, the deserts of north-western Rajasthan followed by Sikkim from 2015.[8] He first took part in inter-army cross country running in 2015 at the insistence of his colleagues, before switching to steeplechase under trainer Amrish Kumar.[6][9] Sable, who was overweight, managed to lose 20 kg (44 lb) in three months, before joining the national camp where he was trained by Nikolai Snesarev. In 2018, Sable went back to coach Kumar as Snesarev's training routine did not "suit" him.[5]
Career
editAfter failing to qualify for the 2018 Asian Games due to an ankle injury, Sable broke the 37-year-old national record of 8:30.88 held by Gopal Saini, by clocking 8:29.80 at the 2018 National Open Championships in Bhubaneswar. He set a new national record of 8:28.94 in March 2019 at the Federation Cup in Patiala,[10] as a result of which he qualified for the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships and 2019 World Athletics Championships.[11] He became the first male steeplechaser from India to qualify for the World Championships since Deena Ram (1991).[12]
Sable won the silver medal at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, his debut international event, with a timing of 8:30.19.[10] On 1 October 2019, he again broke his own national record at the World Championships where he ran 8:25.23 in the heats, despite twice being at the receiving end of Takele Nigate's accidental tripping during the race, to finish seventh in the heats and out of contention for the final.[13] However, after a successful appeal by the Athletics Federation of India, Sable was included in the final and became the first Indian to qualify for the 3000 metres steeplechase final at the World Championships.[14] He further improved the national record to 8:21.37 in the final, finishing 13th out of 16 runners,[15] and qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[16][17]
Sable set a new national record at the 2020 Delhi Half Marathon, completing the run in less than 61 minutes.[18][19]
At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sable placed seventh in the heats, setting a new national record to 8:18.12. He was the fastest non-qualifier across all heats.[20] In 2022, Sable set 2 further national records, first at the Indian Grand Prix (8:16.21), and then at the Meeting International Mohamed VI in Rabat (8:12.48), placing 5th (his current highest Diamond League rank).[21][22]
Sable won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a new national record time of 8:11.20.[23] It was also the first time an athlete from outside Kenya had won a medal in men's 3000 metres steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games since 1994.[24]
Sable finished 35th at the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships, clocking 31:43 over the 10km distance in a field of over 100 athletes. At the 2022 Asian Games, he won the first ever gold medal for India in men's steeplechase and silver in 5000 metre.[25]
He qualified for 2024 Summer Olympics after placing sixth in the Silesian leg of the 2023 Diamond League with a time of 8:11.63.[26]
References
edit- ^ "3000m Steeplechase Men - Asian Athletics Championships" (PDF). aac2019.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Avinash Sable - Present perfect for India's steeplechase champion". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Avinash Mukund SABLE | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. 9 July 2024. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Avinash Sable shatters National Record for 10th time ahead of Paris Olympics". India Today. 7 July 2024. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ a b Koshie, Nihal (19 March 2019). "Federation Cup: Avinash Sable, a man for all seasons". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ a b Siwach, Vinay (18 March 2019). "From Siachen to Worlds, soldier Avinash Sable completes incredible journey with national record". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ Jadhav, Radheshyam (2 October 2023). "Avinash Sable races against all odds to succeed". BusinessLine. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ Swaminathan, Swaroop (19 March 2019). "Avinash Sable's long and winding road to worlds". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ Selvaraj, Jonathan (29 September 2018). "Soldier turned steeplechaser, Avinash Sable targets Olympics after breaking 37-year-old national record". ESPN.in. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ a b Rajaraman, G. (22 April 2019). "Asian Athletics Championships: Avinash Sable shows maturity despite trepidation to bag silver on international debut". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ Halder, Aditya K (19 March 2019). "Meteoric rise of Avinash Sable in Fed Cup". India Today. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ Aga, Oumar (13 September 2019). "Conquered Beed, survived Kargil, Army steeplechaser's Pune gold is 'world championship' practice run". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ "3000 Metres Steeplechase Summary". IAAF. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "IAAF World Championships: Avinash Sable included in Steeplechase final after India's successful appeal". India Today. 1 October 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "3000 Metres Steeplechase Result". IAAF. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Really happy after qualifying for Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Avinash Sable after World Championship heroics". India Today. 5 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "India's Avinash Sable qualifies for Tokyo Olympics after smashing 3000m steeplechase national record for second time". The Hindu. 5 October 2019. Archived from the original on 24 November 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Olympic-bound Avinash Sable sets new national record in Delhi half-marathon". India Today. 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Airtel Delhi Half Marathon | Ethiopians Walelegn, Yehualaw win elite races with record times". The Hindu. 29 November 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "World Athletics". www.worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Avinash Mukund SABLE | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Indian Grand Prix - 2 « Athletics Federation of India". Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ "Sable ends Kenyan steeplechase hegemony at CWG, wins silver medal". The Indian Express. 6 August 2022. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games 2022 athletics: India's Avinash Sable denies Kenya a steeplechase podium clean sweep for first time since 1994". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ "Asian Games 2023: Avinash Sable wins silver in men's 5000m". Sportstar.
- ^ "Avinash Sable qualifies for 2024 Paris Olympics after finishing 6th in Diamond League". The Indian Express. 16 July 2023. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.