Athletics: A season of success for Yupun Abeykoon

Sri Lanka’s premier 100m runner in this modern era – Yupun Abeykoon – concluded this season scripting a successful version of it clocking 10.14s (-0.3m/s), in the 100m finals at the Diamond League on Friday.

Abeykoon, Sri Lanka’s first-ever athlete to feature in the Diamond League, the season-ending athletic meet, which ended on Friday  at Zurich, Switzerland, ran finishing in fifth place.

South Asia’s fastest man was also the solitary Asian to run against the likes of Olympians – Yohan Blake and Andre De Gasse.

Olympian Abeykoon, based in Italy, went into the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games, Birmingham, under much-anticipation. However, he lived up to expectations bagging a bronze with a timing of 10.14s. 

The running force had been on a record-breaking spree all-year this year, when he peaked his performance posting a 9.96s, the first Lankan to break the sub 10-second mark.

“5th in the Zurich Diamond League finals with a timing of 10.14 seconds. I came here and I did it and I did by best! Super happy to be among these top giants in athletics and the best out of all the sprinters in the world and to be able to be competing with and against them. This adds to one of my best moments in life. Thank you to my team, for all your blessings and love shared towards me all this years and will promise to do my best always” Abeykoon wrote in his facebook page after the race.