Aruna and Tharushi Best Athletes at Nationals

By Susil Premalal
Asian-level medallist Aruna Dharshana of the Army SC and Tharushi Karunarathna of Sri Lanka Schools were selected as the Most Outstanding Athletes at the 102nd Sri Lanka Athletic (SLA) 2024 Senior National Championships, concluded at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex in Diyagama yesterday.
In addition, Dharshana was selected as the Best Overall Athlete in this three-day championship, which was conducted under severe weather conditions targeting the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Qualifying standards.      
Dharshana won the Men’s 400m final with a time of 45.51s (IAAF points 1,145) and Tharushi won the Women’s 800m with a time of 2.04.22s (IAAF points 1,088).
Meanwhile, Nesarasa Daksitha of the Jaffna University established the only national record at the meet when she produced a fine performance of 3.72m in the Women’s pole vault event. 
She shattered the previous mark of 3.65m set by Sachini Perera in 2022. 
Tharushi, who is currently placed 45th in the IAAF Olympic Rankings, finished the Women’s 800m event with a disappointing time of 2.04.22s.
Up and coming athlete D. M. T. D. Yodasinghe of the Army SC won the Men’s 100m final with a time of 10.44s and ended as the Best Sprinter of the Athletic Nationals.