World Athletics Championships: Sable qualifies for 3000m steeplechase final

Sable clocked 8:18:75 to earn a direct qualification to the final.

Sable in action. (FILE) | Photo Credit: MAHINSHA S

Avinash Sable on Saturday earned a direct qualification for the 3000m steeplechase final at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.

Sable, who had also qualified for the final during the 2019 edition, finished third in heat 3, clocking 8:18.75 to qualify for the finals to be held on Monday.

He was only 1/1000th of a second faster than Eritrean athlete Yemane Haileselassie. Ethiopian Hailemariyam Amare (8:18.34) came first in Sable’s group, followed by the host nation’s Evan Jager (8:18.44).

Avinash Sable finishes third in his heat with a time of 8.18.75 to qualify automatically for the final of the men's 3000m steeplechase at the World Championships. Second consecutive final at the Worlds for the Indian. pic.twitter.com/a5NORlaJk3

— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) July 16, 2022

The top three in each heat and the next six fastest runners across the three heats qualify for the final.

Sable has been in a national record breaking spree in recent times with the latest being the 8:12.48 effort while finishing fifth at the prestigious Diamond League Meeting in Rabat last month.

(With inputs from PTI)