THREE NEW RECORDS ON FIRST DAY
National athletic trials
Three Sri Lanka records were established on the opening day of the National athletic final selection trials worked off at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex in Diyagama yesterday. The trials are held in preparation for the 22nd Asian Senior Athletics Championships which will be held from July 6 to 9 in India.
Charith Kapukotuwa of Sri Lanka Army SC produced a fine performance in the Men’s shot putt final clearing a distance of 17.55 metres.
He bettered his own record of 17.03 metres which was set up in 2014 in the US.
Meanwhile, Ishara Sandaruwan of Sri Lanka Air Force SC also set up a new record in the Men’s pole vault with an effort of 5.11 metres to beat his own record of 5.10 metres held at last year’s National Sports Festival in Jaffna.
In addition, Anitha Jaganethwaran of the University of Jaffna set up a new record in the Women’s pole vault with a fine effort of 3.46 metres.
She shattered her own record of 3.45 metres held at the first National selection trials this year.
Already six athletes have reached the qualifying standard set by the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL).
Those who have qualified are Dilhani Lekamge (Women’s javelin), Rumeshika Ratnayake (Women’s 100m), M. G. A. Premakumara (Men’s 400m), Vinod Suranjaya de Silva (Men’s 100m) and Dhanuka Liyanapathirana (Men’s long jump).
They will join six other athletes, namely Manjula Kumara Wijesekera (Men’s high jump), Himasha Eshan (Men’s 100m), Waruna Lakshan (Men’s javelin), Nimali Liyanarachchi (Women’s 800m), Gayanthika Abeyratne (Women’s 800m) and Nilani Ratnayake (Women’s 3,000m steeplechase) who had earlier reached the qualifying standards in their respective events this year.