Yupun Abeykoon
Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) is anxiously hoping that sprinter Yupun Abeykoon will compete at the 102nd National Athletics Championships, to be held on June 25, 26 and 27 to qualify for the Olympics.
The Italy based sprinter has entered the Olympic rankings for the first time at the 87th position following his impressive performances at the Anhalt Athletics Championship last week.
He has to clock 10.00 seconds or improve his ranking to be within the top 48 to earn the ticket for the Paris Olympics.
Abeykoon needed five top performances in 2024 to break in to the Olympic rankings as he did not compete last year due to injury.
He has to overtake more than two dozen sprinters ranked above him within the next few weeks if he is to brush shoulders with the world’s best in Paris.
Abeykoon, the fastest man in South Asia and the only sprinter from the region to have clocked sub ten seconds in the history of 100 metres has not competed on Sri Lankan soil for many years.
The athletics authorities are leaving no stone unturned in search of Olympic berths for top athletes.
Asian Games medallists Tharushi Karunaratne, Gayanthika Abeyratne and Nadeesha Ramanayake left for Chinese Taipei on Thursday (30) to take part in the Taiwan Open Athletics Championships.
They will be joined by Aruna Dharshana and Dilhani Lekamge who competed in China over the weekend.
According to Sri Lanka Athletics there will be at least three other overseas competitions for Sri Lankan athletes to fight for Olympics qualifications before the deadline close for qualifying standards on June 30.
