India's ace steeplechaser Avinash Sable will compete in his first Diamond League Final in Brussels, as he is one of 12 participants for the winner-takes-all 3000m race on Friday (September 13, 2024). Sable joins javelin throw spearhead Neeraj Chopra in the season-ending event. (More Sports News)
National record holder Sable finished 14th in the overall Diamond League standings with the three points he collected from two meetings. But four athletes ranked higher than him -- Lamecha Girma (injured) of Ethiopia, Geordie Beamish of New Zealand, Ryuji Mura of Japan and Hillary Bor of the USA -- are not taking part in the final, paving the way for the 29-year-old's inclusion.
The season finale will be a two-day affair on September 13 and 14. The men's 3000m steeplechase is scheduled for September 13, while the men's javelin throw event will he held the next day.
Five meetings out of the 14 in the DL series across the world this season had men's 3000m steeplechase event.
Sable had ended in the sixth position in the Paris leg of the Diamond League on July 7, with a national record time of 8:09.91 that bettered his own earlier mark. He was 14th at the Silesia leg with a time of 8:29.96 on August 25.
The man from Beed, Maharashtra had finished a disappointing 11th at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 on August 7 with a time of 8:14.18, after becoming the first Indian to enter the Olympics final in men's 3000m steeplechase.
Two-time Olympic medallist Chopra, on the other hand, qualified for the DL final after finishing fourth in the overall standings. The reigning world champion accumulated 14 points from his two second-place finishes in the one-day meets held in Doha and Lausanne.
Each Diamond League season finale champion is awarded a prestigious 'Diamond Trophy', 30,000 US dollars (USD) in prize money and a wild card for the World Athletics Championships.
The runner-up will get USD 12,000 and so on till the eight-place finisher who will pocket USD 1000.
(With PTI inputs)
