World Athletics: Sable finishes 11th in 3000m steeplechase

India’s Avinash Sable finished 11th in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final at the World Athletics Championships.

Sable clocked 8:31.75 — his slowest time since 2019– in the 15-man field final on Monday (Tuesday morning in India).

The 27-year-old Indian could not find a breakthrough in a tightly contested final which saw two falls during the course of the race. He qualified for the 3000m steeplechase final after finishing third in his heat with a time of 8:18.75.

This was Sable’s second successive world championships final. At the 2019 world championships in Doha, he finished 13th in the final in 8:21.37.

Tokyo Olympic champion Moroccan steeplechaser Soufiane El Bakkali clinched the gold clocking 8:25.13, the slowest time in the history of the championships. The victory gave the 26-year-old a complete set of World Championships medals, adding to the silver he won in London in 2017 and bronze in Doha in 2019.

“I am very happy to win my first world title after the Olympic gold,” Bakkali said. “The race was very difficult; it was quite tactical and slow. I positioned myself well on the last lap. I am very strong in the 400m and it worked out for me.”

Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma won the silver for the second straight championships in 8:26.01, while Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya settled for the bronze with a timing of 8:27.92. It was the first time a Kenyan has finished out of the top two since 1991.