Avinash Sable scripted history by becoming the first Indian man to qualify for the 3000m steeplechase final at the Paris Olympics. He finished fifth in his heat with a time of 8:15.43 minutes, securing a spot in the final round. However, his heat timing was below his personal best of 8:09.91 minutes, which he achieved at the Paris Diamond League last month.
In the same event, Morocco's Mohamed Tindouft won the heat with a timing of 8:10.62 minutes, followed by Ethiopia's Samuel Firewu and Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot. Sable's qualification for the final round is a significant achievement, as only the top five athletes in each of the three heats qualify.
Meanwhile, Kiran Pahal failed to secure an automatic semi-final berth in the women's 400m event, finishing seventh in her heat with a time of 52.51 seconds. This was below her season's and personal best of 50.92 seconds. The heat was won by World champion Marileidy Paulino of Dominica, with Aaliyah Butler of the USA and Susanne Gogl-Walli of Austria finishing second and third, respectively.
Pahal will now participate in the repechage round on Tuesday, introduced in the Paris Olympics to provide a second chance for athletes to qualify for the semi-finals.
This new format replaces the earlier system, where athletes advanced to the semi-finals through fastest times in addition to top placings in the first-round heats.
Instead, only the athletes in the top placings will get automatic qualification and all the remaining will get a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals by participating in repechage heats.
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