Avinash Sable (born 13 September 1994) is an Indian track and field athlete who specializes in

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

. He holds the national record of 8:11.20, set at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

where he won the silver medal. It was the ninth time he had set the national record.

Early life

Sable was born on 13 September 1994 in Mandwa, Beed district,

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, into a family of farmers. From age six, he would run or walk the distance between home and school as there was no transport facility in his village. After completing 12th grade, he joined the 5 Mahar regiment of Indian Army, being posted at the Siachen Glacier in 2013–2014, deserts of north-western Rajasthan, followed by Sikkim from 2015. 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. Sable, who was overweight, managed to lose 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.

Career

After failing to qualify for the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

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, as a result of which he qualified for the

2019 Asian Athletics Championships The 2019 Asian Athletics Championships was the 23rd edition of the Asian Athletics Championships. It was held from 21 to 24 April 2019 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar. During the closing ceremony of the 22nd Asian Athletics Cham ...

and

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...

. He became the first male steeplechaser from India to qualify for the World Championships since

Deena Ram Deena Ram (born 1964 in Rajasthan state) is a former Indian track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, ...

(

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

). Sable won the silver medal at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, his debut international event, with a timing of 8:30.19. 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. However, after a successful appeal by the

Athletics Federation of India The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is the national governing body for Athletics sport in India, and is responsible for conducting competitions in the country. It was formed in 1943. It is affiliated to World Athletics and Asian Athletics A ...

, Sable was included in the final and became the first Indian to qualify for the 3000 metres steeplechase final at the World Championships. He further improved the national record to 8:21.37 in the final, finishing 13th out of 16 runners, and qualified for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. Sable set a new national record at the 2020 Delhi Half Marathon, completing the run in less than 61 minutes. At the

, Sable placed seventh in the heats, setting a new national record to 8:18.12. He was the fastest non-qualifier across all heats. 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 highest

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

finish to date). Sable won the silver medal at the

with a new national record time of 8:11.20. 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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sable, Avinash 1994 births Indian Army personnel Indian male steeplechase runners Living people Athletes from Maharashtra People from Beed district Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of India Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Recipients of the Arjuna Award Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games