Pathirage falls short but wins javelin gold

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka’s top-ranked men’s javelin thrower Rumesh Pathirage secured first place in the men’s javelin event at the 65th Ostrava Golden Spike Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic featuring several world-class javelin throwers on Tuesday.

Pathirage recorded a winning throw of 86.57 metres to claim the gold medal. 

Anderson Peters (Grenada) finished second with a distance of 84.27m while Douw Smit (South Africa) was placed third with 83.90m.

This victory comes two weeks after Pathirage’s stunning throw of 92.62 metres which earned him the javelin title at the Rome Diamond League.

As a result, his performance in Ostrava was lower compared to his previous outing in Rome.