Sable, sucked into a slow final, ends 11th in steeplechase final

The 3000m steeplechase final at the World Athletics Championships started on a bizarre note. A cameraman, engrossed in work, was caught unawares as the runners approached. Chaos was averted as the 15-man bunch parted and rejoined.

It did help that the race had hardly picked up pace. It progressed in an unusual manner, eventually finishing as the slowest race in the history of the championships that began in 1983, despite a lineup that included two Olympic champions and two silver medallists.

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The pace never picked up until the final lap, and India's Avinash Sable, running in his second final of a world meet, struggled with his tactics. The 27-year-old Armyman left it until too late to finish a disappointing 11th. Sable, who has repeatedly broken his national record even in tough races, twice this season with the latest a 8:12.48secs at the Rabat Diamond League last month, clocked a pedestrian 8:31.75secs. The tactical gambit the race proved to be sank Sable’s hopes of even achieving another creditable time.

The field was bunched for most part with Sable staying at the tail end. Morocco's Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali, known for his finishing speed, timed his burst to perfection to win clocking 8:25.13s. It ended Kenya’s domination in the event. Ethiopia's Tokyo silver medallist Lamecha Girma was second (8:26.01s), pushing Kenyan defending champion Conseslus Kipruto to third (8:29.92s).

The world leading time this season is El Bakkali's 7:58.28secs where Sable also clocked a national record. But unlike in the heats where Sable led till the halfway mark before finishing third (8:18.75s) to earn direct qualification to the final, he chose to play the waiting game on Monday evening in Eugene (Tuesday morning in India). Nobody wanted to set the pace, waiting for someone else to break free and take the rest along.

“It was the craziest championships steeple ever,” said Sable foreign coach Scott Simmons from Eugene. “It was extremely slow and then got even slower. I have never seen anything like this before and likely will never again."

Simmons put it down to Sable’s lack of confidence due to his level. “I think once Sable runs under 8:10 he will be confident to push the pace, like he did in the prelims. It is a serious learning experience for him and for all the others too,” he said.

“We assumed Girma and the Ethiopians would push but it never happened. 66secs is slow but they were running 70 and 72. It is difficult to hurdle when going that slow.”

The tactic though was slammed by Sable's former coach Amrish Kumar, who introduced him to steeplechase. Under him, Sable broke the national record many times before moving to train under Simmons at Colorado Springs this year.

Kumar, the long-time Army coach, termed it Sable’s worst performance at international level. “I don’t know who made the strategy but it was bad tactics to stay behind for so long. He has himself said he has the capacity to clock 8:05-8:10. Here in the final his first km was nearly 3min. This is something he doesn’t even do in normal training,” he said.

“His strength is consistent pace. He can run at around 2:40 each km without dropping pace and that’s the reason behind his recent performances.”

Kumar felt Sable should have focused on clocking his personal best. “He has run all his races on this strategy and broken national records several times. You cannot be competing with World and Olympic champions in the last leg of the race. Sable doesn’t have that speed in the final stretch. Target should have been his timing, not the result or the record.”

Sable said, “Every race is different and this one gave me good experience for the next ones. We are showing improvement in long distances in India. In a few years, India will feature in those events. My next goal is the Commonwealth Games.”

It was a big disappointment though as Sable has made it a habit to push himself in every race, even if a podium place was out of reach.

“The race was very tactical, slow. We had very good runners like defending champion Kipruto," said El Bakkali. “I positioned well in the last lap. I am very strong in the 400m and it worked out for me."

Even Girma was unhappy with a second place. “The pace was very slow, my tactic did not work and that cost me the gold. I was trying to change the tactic but the pace limited me very much. I will go for gold next year.”

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