Bahadur Prasad, who claimed the country’s oldest track record until Saturday morning, had a three-decade wait terminated when he heard the breaking news through WhatsApp message in Varanasi.
Avinash Sable beats a 30-year-old 5000-meter record
Armyman Avinash Sable surpassed Prasad’s 5,000-meter national record on Friday, clocking 13 minutes and 25.65 seconds in San Juan Capistrano, California, finishing 12th in a competition that included two Olympic medalists. Trace was more concerned about the clock than with the podium finish for the previous Asian Athletics Championship silver medalist.
Sable, 27, is well-known for wiping ancient documents. He is from the drought-prone Madhva village in Beed, Maharashtra. Seven times, the Tokyo Olympian has beaten the 3,000-metre steeplechase record. He broke Gopal Saini’s 37-year-old record in this race the first time his name appeared in the record books. He also owns the national half marathon record.
Because it was only his second competitive race in 5,000 metres, Friday’s performance at The Sound Running meet was extraordinary.
Sable’s athletic development has been astounding. He worked as a havildar with the Army in Siachen till around seven years ago. He was transported to a tiny cantonment in the desert town of Lalgarh Jattan. Its near the Pakistan border in Rajasthan, to escape the bitter cold. The youngster who walked 12 kilometres to school. And back was chosen to join a training squad for an Army cross-country competition.
Sable has progressed quickly from a fortuitous selection to becoming the country’s top track athlete, holding three national records. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had wanted him to compete in both the 3,000m steeplechase and the 5,000m in the now-cancelled Asian Games in China.
Shivnath Singh’s marathon (road race) record from 1978 is the oldest in India. Prasad, aged 56, broke Raj Kumar Ahlawat’s 10-year-old record in Birmingham in 1992, clocking 13:29.70. Prasad, like Sable, was on a record-breaking streak. He rewrote three additional national marks in less than three weeks in the UK, including the 3,000 metres twice and the 1,500 metres.