| Avinash Sable Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 8 in |
| Weight | 68 kg |
| Date of Birth | September 13, 1994 |
| Zodiac Sign | Virgo |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
Avinash Sable is an Indian track and field athlete who specializes in the 3,000 m steeplechase event in which he won the ‘Silver’ medal at the 2019 Doha Asian Athletics Championships as well as the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. At the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, he clocked 8:11.20, setting a new national record for the 9th time in his career. It was also the first occasion since 1994 that a non-Kenyan athlete had won a medal in the men’s 3,000 m steeplechase event at the Commonwealth Games.
Born Name
Avinash Mukund Sable
Nick Name
Avinash
Sun Sign
Virgo
Born Place
Mandwa, Ashti, Beed, Maharashtra, India
Residence
Beed, Maharashtra, India
Nationality
Education
Avinash is a high school graduate.
Occupation
Track and Field Athlete
Family
- Father – Mukund Sable (Farmer)
- Mother – Vaishali Sable (Farmer)
- Siblings – Rohini Sable (Younger Sister), Yogesh Sable (Younger Brother) (Owner of a Sports Goods Shop)
Event(s)
3,000 m Steeplechase
Build
Athletic
Height
5 ft 8 in or 173 cm
Weight
68 kg or 150 lbs
Race / Ethnicity
Asian (Indian)
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Toned physique
- Short-cropped, wavy hair
- Affable smile
- Often sports a rugged beard
Religion
Hinduism
Avinash Sable Facts
- Avinash, since he was 6 years old, used to run/walk a distance of 3.7 miles to reach his school because there was no transport facility in his village at that time.
- Soon after completing his high school graduation, he joined the 5 Mahar regiment of the Indian Army. This infantry regiment was originally created to include troops from the Mahar community of Maharashtra but was later expanded to include several members of different communities from states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
- In his early days with the Indian Army, he was posted in such diverse environments as the Siachen Glacier (2013-2014), the deserts of north-western Rajasthan therafter, followed by the mountainous terrain of Sikkim in 2015. He has often credited these experiences with building in him the strength and tenacity that stood him in good stead in his later career as a track and field athlete.
- Avinash has served in the Indian Army as a ‘Junior Commissioned Officer’ (JCO), a term used for a group of military personnel ranked higher than ‘Havildar’ (equivalent to sergeant) and lower than ‘Lieutenant’ (a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations). As of October 2022, he had held the rank of ‘Naib Subedar’, the lowest of the 3 JCO ranks in the Indian Army (the ranks from highest to lowest being ‘Subedar Major’, ‘Subedar’, and ‘Naib Subedar’).
- His first major brush with athletics came in 2015 when he participated in an inter-army cross-country running competition upon the insistence of his colleagues. He switched to steeplechase later.
- A few weeks after he failed to qualify for the 2018 Asian Games, owing to an ankle injury, Avinash broke a 37-year-old national record (3,000 m steeplechase) by clocking 8:29.80 at the 2018 National Open Championships. In March 2019, he improved that national record to 8:28.94 at the Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships, the national championship in outdoor track and field events in India.
- Consequently, he qualified for both the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships as well as the 2019 World Athletics Championships. This made him the first male steeplechaser from India, since Deena Ram in 1991, to qualify for the World Athletics Championships.
- In October 2019, Avinash broke his own national record at the World Athletics Championships with a time of 8:25.23 in the heats. This was despite twice suffering from Ethiopian athlete Takele Nigate’s accidental tripping during the race. Avinash, thus, finished 7th in the heats and was out of contention for the final.
- The AFI (Athletics Federation of India), the national governing body for athletics in the country, then successfully appealed against this incident after which Avinash was included in the final, becoming the first Indian to qualify for the 3,000 m steeplechase final at the World Athletics Championships. He improved the national record to 8:21.37 in the final, finishing in 13th place.
- He, consequently, qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (held in July and August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) where he stood 7th in the heats (the fastest non-qualifier across all heats), with a new national record of 8:18.12.
- At the 2020 Delhi Half Marathon, Avinash completed the course within 61 minutes to set a new national record.
- In 2022, he improved the 3,000 m steeplechase national record to 8:16.21 at the Indian Grand Prix and then bettered it to 8:12.48 at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athlétisme de Rabat.
- Avinash stood 5th at the latter event, which was his then-best performance in the Diamond League, an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising 14 of the best invitational athletics meetings. This series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (the international governing body for athletics, covering track and field, cross-country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running) one-day meeting competitions.
Featured Image by Avinash Sable / Instagram
