Athletics Highlights, Paris 2024 Olympics: Avinash Sable finishes 11th in men’s 3000m steeplechase; Roje Stona wins men’s discus throw with Olympic Record

Katie Moon can’t make it a double. She has to settle for a silver as Australia’s Nina Kennedy wins the gold. Canada’s Alysha Newman gets the bronze with a National Record. 

El Bakkali is flying. He finds a late, late kick to defend his Olympic title. He is the first man to defend the steeplechase title in nearly a century. 

Avinash Sable finishes a lowly 11th with a timing of 8:14.2. 

Sable is boxed in. He has dropped to 12th and can’t find a get out. 

The Ethiopians take over the race. Sable drops down the order. El Bakkali too is making a move up the field. 

Men’s 3000m steeplechase begins. Avinash Sable takes the early initiative. 

Mykolas Alekna faults his final throw and that means Jamaica’s Roje Stona wins the gold. 

USA’s Quincy Hall wins men’s 400m final with a timing of 43.40. Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain wins silver with 43.44 (European Record). Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga wins bronze with 43.74. 

Nina Kennedy clears 4.90 with her first try. Moon and Newman fail with their attempts. Moon decides to skip her next try to move to the next height. 

Jamaica’s Roje Stona breaks the discus throw Olympic Record again. He becomes the first to go past the 70-metre mark in Olympics. 

Kennedy, Moon and Newman clear 4.85. The bar rises to 4.90 for the final three. 

Mykolas Alekna breaks the Olympic Record in discus throw, held previously by his father Virgilijus Alekna. 

Mykolas goes 69.97 to go past his dad’s mark of 69.89. 

Men’s Discus Throw Final begins. Mykolas Alekna takes the lead with a 68.55 throw. 

Australia’s Denny Matthew leaps past him with a 69.31 throw. 

Abdulla Aboobacker - 21

Praveen Chithravel - 27

Katie Moon, Angleica Moser, Nina Kennedy and Alysha Newman clear 4.80m with their first attempts. 

Just 16.49 for Aboobacker in his third attempt. 16.21 for Chithravel. This means both Indians will miss out of the final. 

Tebogo beats Lyles to the first spot in SF2. Charamba and Desalu finish above 20.41, meaning reigning Olympic champ De Grasse is knocked out. 

Defending champions Andre de Grasse misses out on direct qualification. Bednarek and Ogando clinch the top two spots. De Grasse is only third. 

Only four have secured direct qualification. Pichardo, Diaz Fortun, Salif Mane and Zango. 

Rai Benjamin and Roshawn Clarke secure qualification from SF 3. 

Praveen Chithravel - 16.25

Abdulla Aboobacker - 16.19

Improvement for both Indians. But the qualification mark is still too far away for both. 

The medal contenders surge past 4.70 as the 19-jumper crowd thins down. 

Karsten Warholm coasts to the final with a timing of 47.67. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos finishes only third, with France’s Clement Ducos finishing second. 

Disappointing start for Chithravel. Just 15.99 for him to start with. Abdulla Aboobacker too registers a 15.99. Both Indians need massive improvements to make it to the final. 

Jamaica’s Orlando Bennett finishes first. USA’s Robert Daniels is second. The two take the automatic qualification spots. 

Hugues Fabrice Zango and Jordan Díaz clear the Qualification Standard with their first jumps. 

All athletes meeting the Qualification Standard (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to Final

Qualification Standard: 17.10

Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell wins the second semifinal with a timing of 13.21. USA’s Freddie Crittenden claims the second qualification spot. 

Easy win for USA’s Grant Holloway 12.98. Spain’s Enrique Llopis finishes second and secures the second direct qualification for the final. 

4.40m is the starting mark. Only New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney is the only one to skip the height. The other 18 clears the mark and move onto the next height. 

Praveen Chithravel is in Group A, while Abdulla Aboobacker is in Group B. 

Avinash Sable’s Personal Best (8:09.91) -- which is also the Indian National Record -- would have placed him on the steeplechase podium of the last three Olympics. In fact, the Indian would have won the gold in London 2012 with his best timing.

First up will be the women’s pole vault final, which will start at 9:45 PM IST. 

22:45 - Athletics - Men’s Triple Jump Qualification - Abdulla Narangolintevida, Praveen Chithravel

01:13 (August 8) - Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Final - Avinash Sable

Welcome to Sportstar’s Live Blog of the second half of the Paris Olympics Athletics events on August 7.