Olympics: Steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary's Paris campaign ends with an 8th-place finish in qualification

India's Parul Chaudhary, the national record holder in women's 3000m steeplechase, was unable to advance to the final after finishing eighth in qualification at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. It brought her campaign at the Games to an end.

The 29-year-old clocked a season's best time of 9 minutes 23.39 seconds, which was significantly slower than her national record of 9:15.31, set at the 2023 Budapest World Championships.

Before the Olympics, Parul had undergone high-altitude training in the USA.

To qualify for the final, athletes needed to finish in the top five of their respective Heats. Peruth Chemutai of Uganda, the defending Olympic champion, won Heat number one with a time of 9:10.51, followed by Faith Cherotich (9:10.57) of Kenya and Gesa Felicitas Krause (9:10.68) from Germany.

Parul's elimination also marked the end of her Olympic journey, as she had previously failed to qualify for the women's 5000m race alongside Ankita Dhyani. Parul had secured direct qualification for the 3000m steeplechase, her specialty event, by surpassing the entry standard of 9:23.00.

Lalita Babar was the only Indian woman to reach an Olympic final of the 3000m steeplechase, at Rio 2016, where she finished in the 10th place.