Abeykoon smashes SL National & South Asia 100m sprint record

Thursday, 10 September 2020 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Yupun Abeykoon after his record breaking run in the men’s 100 metres race at Dessau, Germany on Tuesday

Italian-based Sri Lankan sprinter Yupun Abeykoon smashed the Sri Lanka National and South Asian Men’s 100 metres record with a sizzling run that saw him clock 10.16 seconds at an International athletics meet held in Dessau, Germany on Tuesday, Sri Lanka Athletics has said.

Abeykoon, running in lane four, beat German champion Deniz Almas to second place.

His magnificent effort saw him erase the previous National and South Asia record for the event, which was held by Himasha Eashan, who clocked 10.22 s at the National Trials in Colombo in February last year. A few days before setting up the record, Abeykoon clocked a wind-aided 10.29 s when he returned to competitive athletics after a long break due to COVID-19.

Sport and Youth Minister Namal Rajapaksa tweeted: “Absolutely thrilled with the news that the Sri Lankan sprinter Yupun Abeykoon has set a new Sri Lanka/South Asia record in the men’s 100 m (10.16 sec) in Germany. What an impressive achievement! What a proud moment for Sri Lanka.”

At the 13th South Asian Games held in Nepal last year, Abeykoon helped Sri Lanka win a gold medal in the Men’s 4 x 100m relay with a record timing of 39.14 s, eclipsing the record set by India of 39.91 s in 1999. The Lankan quartet comprised Himasha Eshan, Chanuka Sandeep, Vinoj Suranjaya de Silva and Abeykoon.

Two years ago, Abeykoon clocked his personal best of 10.31 s to win the men’s 100m, beating Shehan Ambepitiya to second place at the second National Trials held in May 2018.

Abeykoon, who represented Sri Lanka Army, used his height of six foot, two inches to full advantage in the latter part of the race to run away from the rest of the field and win. He has been in training in Italy, and often returns to Sri Lanka whenever there are trials held in order to compete and represent his country at international competitions. (ST)

MEN’S 100M FINAL IN DESSAU, GERMANY

1 Mudiyansilage Yupun Abeykoon (Sri Lanka) 10.16 s

2 Deniz Almas (Germany) 10.18 s

3 Michael Pohl (Germany) 10.41 s

4 Aleksandar Askovic (Germany) 10.50 s

5 Robby Welsch (Germany) 10.52 s

6 Silvan Wicki (Switzerland) abg