Avinash Sable finished a solid 10th in his first competitive men’s 3000m steeplechase race of the year when he clocked 8:17:18 at the Rabat Diamond League leg in Morocco on Sunday.
In what was a really high pace race, World and Olympic Champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco clocked a personal best of 7:56.68, setting a meet record and finishing in first place in front of a roaring home crowd. Getnet Wale of Kenya finished second with a PB of 8:05.15 while Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medallist Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya held on to third place with a time of 8:05.51.
At the same event in the same venue the previous year, Sable had finished fifth with a time of 8:12.48. This time however, the top three in El Bakkali, Wale and Kibiwot broke away behind the pacesetters. The 26-year old Indian was in the back-half, not quite able to keep up with the record pace up ahead. Sable crossed the line to finish nearly six seconds off his personal best of 8:11.20, achieved at the 2022 CWG in Birmingham where he won silver. As he didn’t finish in the top eight, he’d not earn any points from Rabat towards qualification for the season-ending Diamond League Final.
Here are the results of the 3000m Steeplechase event in Rabat:
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