by Reemus Fernando   

Sprinter Yupyn Abeykoon, who is one of the three Sri Lankan athletes to have secured their passage to the upcoming World Championships in Oregon, finished fourth in the 100 metres at the final Wanda Diamond League meeting in Stockholm’s historic Olympic Stadium on Thursday.

Sri Lanka’s only athlete to have competed at a Diamond League meet, Abeykoon clocked 10.21 seconds for his fourth-place finish. In a social media post after the race, he said that the slow start and the negative wind he encountered in the race would provide stimulation for his next race.

With his post, he has given something for the track and field fans to look forward to when he ends a long wait to see a Sri Lankan sprinter at a World Championship.

It was his second appearance in a Diamond League where only the top-notch athletes compete. Only the names of three Asians, namely, Olympian Abeykoon, India’s Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra and Japanese Olympian Ryuji Miura were to be seen in the results of the Stockholm Diamond League meeting published by World Athletics.

Despite the mere participation being an achievement, Abeykoon has not given reasons to be content. In his post, he said that he was not prepared to rest until he achieves the goals he has set.

“I’m never going to put my head down until I’m satisfied with the goal I want to achieve in my career. No matter how bad a condition could affect me, or no matter how authorities disrespect and undervalue my sacrifices and my ability to do better I will always do it for myself,” Abeykoon said in his post.

Abeykoon came almost close to achieving the tough World Championship qualifying mark of 10.05 seconds this season. His legal best was 10.06 seconds to a headwind of -0.2 though he had a wind-assisted (+2.3) feat of 10.04 seconds in May in Italy where he is based.

His appearance in the men’s 100 metres at the World Championships in two weeks’ time in Oregon ends more than a decade-old drought. After Shehan Ambepitiya competed at the Berlin World Championships in 2009 no Sri Lankan sprinter has taken part in the track and field’s biennial event during the past five editions.

Former national 100 metres record holder Chinthaka de Zoysa appeared in three consecutive championships from 1995 during the period which was widely considered the golden era of athletics in Sri Lanka. There was no one to continue his legacy until Ambepitiya emerged as a true contender following his World Junior Championship heroics (appearing in the final).

Like all track and field events, the men’s 100 metres has seen a dramatic improvement during the last decade. Ambepitiya who had to struggle due to injuries had a best of 10.46 in the year he represented the country at the World Championships. He was the fastest in South Asia but in the Asian region, there were dozens of others who were faster than him. Japan’s Masashi Eriguchi, who featured in both the World Championship and Olympic finals was Asia’s best that year but had only a personal best of 10.07 (+1.9).

This year, when Abeykoon features in the World Championships he is the third fastest in Asia behind Japan’s Ryuichiro Sakai (10.02secs) and Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (10.04 secs) and will carry huge expectations. He secured his ticket to the World Championships by virtue of his ranking (42) in the World Athletics’ Road to Oregon list. Not many would bet on him to feature in the final but a sub 10 seconds feat would be within his reach. It would probably be one of his set goals and there wouldn‘t be a better place than a World Championship to accomplish that.