Paris Olympics: Avinash Sable fades to finish 11th, El Bakkali makes steeplechase history

Avinash Sable finished 11th in the men's steeplechase final (X/OlympicKhel)

In a dramatic 3000m steeplechase that saw Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma, the world record holder, stretchered off after crashing into a hurdle on the final lap, Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco became only the second man to retain the gold medal, seeing off the threat of the USA’s Kenneth Rooks and Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot to win in a time of 8:06.05. India’s Avinash Sable, who had qualified fifth-fastest for the final, finished 11th in 8:14.18. That time was more than four seconds slower than the national record he set at the Paris Diamond League meeting in June.

Sable started off superbly, setting the pace for much of the first two laps. Perhaps having observed his performance in qualifying, the Ethiopian trio of Girma, Samuel Firewu and Getnet Wale decided to rein him in. By the 1000m mark, the three Ethiopians were setting the pace, and Sable had slipped to fourth.

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Thereafter, with a high-quality field jostling for places, Sable was never really in the hunt. Often, he was boxed in on the inside, and by the 2000m mark, he had slipped down to 11th place. By then, the race had become a battle for African supremacy, with the Tunisians, Moroccans and Kenyans also joining the leading group.

Sable held his own till the final lap, but once Rooks broke clear in an attempt to escape, he had nothing left to give. It was as the athletes cleared the hurdle down the back straight that Girma struck it, somersaulted through the air and landed with a sickening thud on his back. With his head also hitting the ground, he left the stadium unconscious.

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It was in Los Angeles (1932) and Berlin (1936) that Finland’s Volmari Iso-Hollo won back-to-back steeplechase golds. Kenya’s Ezekiel Kemboi also won two golds, but those were separated by eight years (2004 and 2008). El Bakkali, who bided his time cleverly, went past Rooks with his loping strides – he is 1.96m tall – just before the final hurdle to claim his place in history. At 2000m, he had been just a couple of steps ahead of Sable, but he paced his race beautifully to continue the golden Moroccan tradition started by Said Aouita in the 1980s.

Sable was the first Indian man to make a track final since Sriram Singh in the 800m at the Montreal Olympics (1976), and though he’s almost 30, this race in such august company should stand him in good stead for future challenges.

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