The second day of the 100th National Athletics Championship was seen in full swing this morning (9) at the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapakse Stadium.
The morning kicked off with long distance queens Nilani Ratnayake and Gayanthika Abeyratne renewing National Records in their respective events. Nilani Ratnayake clocked a 9:40.25min renewing the Women’s 300m Steeplechase after 4 years. The Men’s 3000m Steeplechase event was won by Bandara Herath who clocked in at 8:57.12min.
After winning the Women’s 1500m yesterday with a new National Record, Gayanthika Abeyratne returned to the track to smash the Women’s 800m event with yet another National Record. Abeyratne shattered Dilshi Kumarasinghe’s record with a time of 2:01.44min.
Abeyratne was followed by Tharushi Karunaratne, the young star from Walala who also broke Kumarasinghe’s Junior National record, clocking 2:04.40min. Kumarasinghe opted out of the National meet due to a leg injury.
Rusiru Chathuranga’s magnificent run in the Men’s 800m final made for a great comeback. Chathuranga beat out Kupun Kushantha with a time of 1:50.84min.
Then came the sprinters – after a gruelling fight in the Women’s final between Shelinda Jansen and Medhani Jayamanne, the latter prevailed and won gold with a time of 24.58. Mohomed Safan was crowned the 2022 Men’s National champion in the Men’s 200m event. Safan clocked in at 21.44sec to win the title with an easy gap between him and his opponents.
The day’s track events ended with four Hurdles finals, the 100m Women’s and the 110m Men’s final that were postponed on Day 1 due to unfortunate weather conditions in Diyagama.
Lakshika Sugandi and Ireshani Rajasinghe went head-to-head in the Women’s 100m Hurdles, but it was Sugandi who pulled a win out of the hat with a time of 13.70sec in the end. Rajasinghe trailed in second with a time of 14.36sec.
Roshan Dammika Ranathunga also held on to his Men’s 110m Hurdles title with a timing of 14.05sec. Anuradha Srimal finished second in the final behind Ranathunga with a time of 14.55sec, so close yet too far away to challenge the reigning champ’s title.
Next came the 400m Hurdles: Kaushalya Madushani dominated the Women’s final from the word go. She clocked in a 58.73sec to finish first. More good news from the Women’s 400m Hurdles came from the second-place winner Amesha Hettiarachchi, who clocked in at 1:00.23min to record a New Junior National Record.
The Men’s Hurdles title was won in a close battle between Dhanuka Darshana and Asitha Rathnasena. Darshana pulled away for the win with a time of 52.17sec, while Rathnasena finished behind clocking 53.01sec.
Sarangi Silva came out with another strong first place finish in the Women’s Long Jump event, marking a distance of 6.52m. Anjani Pulwansa came second in the event with a 6.01m. In the Men’s final, Amila Wimalasiri won by a slim margin over Shreshan Dananjaya, marking 7.69 to Dananjaya’s 7.63m.
The 5th and last record for the day came from possibly the most consistent highflyer in the current circuit, Sachini Perera. She has renewed her record in the Women’s Pole Vault for the third time in 2022 alone. In February she recorded a 3.65m, then a 3.70m in March in the Second Selection trial, and now a 3.71m record height to finish off Day 2 of the National Athletics Championship.
>>Click here for full results of Day 1 & 2<<
Tomorrow (10) will be the third and final day of the 100th National Athletics Championship. Stay logged onto www.thepapare.com for live coverage from Diyagama.
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