Brussels Diamond League Final: Avinash Sable finishes ninth, Amos Serem stuns Paris 2024 champion in 3000m steeplechase

Brussels [Belgium], September 14 (ANI): In his Diamond League final debut in Brussels, Avinash Sable finished ninth in the 3000m steeplechase at the King Baudouin Stadium on Friday night. Avinash clocked 8:17.09s and ended his campaign in the ninth position. Kenya's Amos Serem stunned the Paris Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco and danced to the Diamond League title with a timing of 8:06.90s.

From the beginning of the race, Sable, a national record holder, was at the end of the pack of ten runners and never seemed in a position to challenge for the title. Amos maintained his lead in the last 400m of the race. El Bakkali trailed and failed to overtake Amos before the finish line. He fell short by 1.70s and finished behind him. Sable, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Friday, had finished 14th in the overall Diamond League standings with three points from two meetings.

However, four athletes, Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma, Geordie Beamish of New Zealand, Japan's Ryuji Mura, and Hillary Bor of the USA, ranked higher than him, pulled out, which allowed Sable to participate in the season final.

For Amos, it was a redemption arc after he failed to qualify for the final in Paris. In Heat 1, the sixth spot after he messed up the water jump. He had to go back around and try it again. A single lapse led to his downfall in the Olympics. In the Paris Olympics, Sable clocked 8:14.18 in the final at the Stade de France to secure 11th place in the race.

On the second and last day of the event, Paris 2024 silver medallist Neeraj Chopra will compete in the javelin throw final. Chopra, who currently holds fourth place in the standings with 14 points from his performances in Doha and Lausanne, will face tough competition from Paris 2024 bronze medallist and points leader Anderson Peters (Grenada), as well as Germany's Julian Weber, among others. (ANI)