Sri Lanka's Gayanthika Abeyrathna (1500m), Dilhani Lekamge (javelin), and Aruna Darshana (400m) have qualified for individual events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. They were previously on the qualification waiting list.
Sri Lanka's Gayanthika Abeyrathna (1500m), Dilhani Lekamge (javelin), and Aruna Darshana (400m) have qualified for individual events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. They were previously on the qualification waiting list.
Notably, this will be the first time a Sri Lankan woman athlete will participate in the 1500m event at a World Championship, following in the footsteps of Chaminda Wijekoon in 2011.
Abeyrathna will be making her second appearance at the World Championships, joining Susanthika Jayasinghe, Damayanthi Darsha, and Sriyani Kulawansha as the only women athletes from Sri Lanka to have represented the country at the World Championships more than once.
Lekamge will become only the second woman thrower and the third overall to compete at the World Championships. Nadeeka Lakmali was the first thrower to participate, reaching the final event in 2013. Waruna Lakshan is the sole male thrower who has represented Sri Lanka at the World Championships. Lekamge is currently ranked among the top 36 athletes in the world in her event.
Darshana, initially in 53rd position, has now been upgraded to the top 48, qualifying for both the 400m individual event and the 4x400m event. This marks the first time since 2005 that a Sri Lankan athlete has qualified for the men's 400m event, with the last being Prasanna Amarasekara.
Sri Lanka Athletics had pre-entered its athletes for the World Championships, recognizing the possibility of their qualification. The official list of athletes was confirmed by World Athletics yesterday in collaboration with SL Athletics.
This will be the second-largest contingent, consisting of eight athletes, that Sri Lanka has sent to the World Championships.
