Javelin thrower Tharanga flops at Athletic Nationals

By Susil Premalal   

Sri Lanka suffered another blow in their ‘2024 Road to Paris’ campaign when star athlete Rumesh Tharanga failed to reach the Olympic Qualifying standard in the Men’s javelin throw event at the 102nd Sri Lanka Athletic (SLA) National Championships, which began at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex in Diyagama yesterday.   

The Sri Lanka record-holder of the Men’s javelin throw event Tharanga representing the Air Force SC started promisingly but produced only a disappointing effort of 77.10m and had to be content with second place at this IAAF Grade ‘B’ event.   

Former Sri Lanka record-holder Sumedha Ranasinghe won the event with a performance of 77.68m.   

Earlier, Tharanga established a new meet and Sri Lanka record with a throw of 85.45m to win the Gold Medal at the Asian Throwing Championships in South Korea.   

Tharanga shattered the previous mark of 83.04m but missed the Olympic Qualification by just five centimetres as the required level for the Olympic Qualification is 85.50m.   

Tharanga will now participate in the Indian Athletic Nationals from June 27 to 30 along with Ranasinghe aiming to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games, SLA Secretary Saman Gunawardana told the Daily Mirror yesterday. No Sri Lankan athlete has secured a direct qualification for the Paris Olympic Games and the deadline set by the IAAF is June 30.   
Meanwhile, W. A. M. R. Wijesuriya of the Army SC won the first Gold Medal at the Nationals when she won the Women’s 10,000m event with a time of 35.09.35s.