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Indian athlete Avinash Sable finished fifth in the men’s 3000m steeplechase event at the Stockholm Diamond League 2023 in Switzerland on July 2, Sunday. Sable took 8.21.88 to complete the race, which is slower than his personal best of 8.11.20. His personal best record is India’s national record in men’s 3000m steeplechase. In the previous Diamond League event in Rabat, Morocco, Sable finished 10th with a time of 8.17.18s.
The reigning Olympic, world and Diamond League champion, Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco won the event with 8.09.84 s. The second position was acquired by the 2019 Diamond League champion, Getnet Wale of Ethiopia. Abraham Sime of Ethiopia took 8.16.82 s to claim the third spot in the competition. Avinash, who won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games has been undergoing training in Switzerland for the forthcoming World Championships.
The mega event is slated to be hosted from August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary. Sable skipped the 62nd National Inter-State Championships held in Bhubaneshwar from June 15 to 18 for his training for the forthcoming mega event. Not only this, but the 28-year-old athlete will also skip the Asian Championships scheduled from July 12 to 16th in Thailand.
Notably, athletes competing at each leg of the Diamond League series are awarded points instead of medals, and top eight athletes in each event at the end of all the legs will compete at the Diamond League Final. The Stockholm Diamond League 2023 was the seventh event of the 2023 league, which will end with the Diamond League Final 2023 in Eugene, USA on September 16 and 17.
