Paris Olympics: Avinash Sable dreams of steeplechase podium, armed with strength training and smoother jumps | Sport-others News

There was only one clear winner in the men’s 3000m steeplechase finals at the Interstate meet even before the starting pol went off. Commonwealth Games silver medall and India’s best steeplechaser ever Avinash Sable strolled to a gold in Panchkula with 8:31.75s on the clock – almost 15 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher Sumit Kumar. This event was neither about timings nor position for the Maharashtra athlete, who was the first track and field athlete to qualify for the Paris Olympics back in July last year.
“This competition was just like practice. I trained harder in practice just last week. I gave it like 70 per cent effort,” Sable, who looked ready to run another race, said just minutes after crossing the finish line. Sable’s quote, taken out of context, would probably paint him as someone a touch haughty. But that’s far from reality. No other steeplechaser in the county has even come close to his standards – 9-time national record setter, a career-defining CWG silver, and multiple Asian-level medals.
Sable’s sports CV would need more than a few pages to do justice. One of the most humble athletes on the circuit, it wouldn’t be a bold statement to say that the 28-year-old has a mind of his own. “I don’t even consider these national records an achievement. If I wanted to, I could have taken part in events and broken the national record again but my focus is the Olympics,” says Sable who is taking part in his second steeplechase event of this year.
Sable, who trains at Colorado Springs in the US, has been very picky with his events this season and hasn’t come up with one big confidence-boosting show this year as yet. The army man doesn’t seem lacking in confidence though. “I have been training hard and have improved in a lot of areas. I am in the best shape of my career. I have rectified the errors I used to make earlier. If things go my way, the dream of making it to the podium can happen,” said Sable who trains with the likes of Paul Chelimo at Colorado Springs. Paul has an Olympic silver and bronze medal apart from a world championship bronze in the 5000.
Sable’s strength has always been endurance but for this reason, he has worked specially on his explosive strength that he reckons would help him kick off in the last 400m. “Unlike earlier, I have been doing a lot of plyometrics, strength training, and other muscle-specific exercises. My jumps over the hurdles have become smoother, and my pace in running has improved as well,” he said.
It’s not just training methodology that has gone through an overhaul since Sable made the US his base, but it’s his mindset as well. The realisation that there is a life beyond sports has made him a more calm and focused person. “I saw how athletes would sometimes finish fourth and even then carry on as if nothing happened. I realised they had a life beyond the track and that is something I did not have. I was burning myself thinking about athletics all the time. Now I am different,” said Sable.
But the realisation doesn’t mean Sable is any less focussed or hardworking than before. For the Olympics, he has made a sacrifice that he feels is even tougher than training. “I love sugar but for the last five months, I have been drinking only black coffee. I used to love eating burgers and ice cream and that is also off the table for now. Ye toh training se bhi mushkil hai ji (That’s more difficult than training),” he said.