Although a competitive collegiate runner, Cabral has focused his training on the Olympics. On June 28, 2012, Cabral qualified for the 2012 United States Olympic team as a steeplechase participant by finishing second to Evan Jager with a time of 8:19.81 in the 2012 United States Olympic Trials and surpassing the Olympic A standard time of 8:23.10. In an August 3, 2012 Olympic heat, Cabral finished 4th with a time of 8:21.46 in his 13-man heat, earning the last automatic berth to the August 5 finals. Cabral's time was 10th fastest of the 15 advancing runners (and of all 39 entrants), slower than all six qualifiers from heat 1 and faster than all 4 qualifiers from heat 2. In the finals, he led at the 1000 meter split with a time of 2:52.70, but he finished in eighth place with a time of 8:25.91.