Yupun signals injury return with sprint win

Yupun Abeykoon   

By Susil Premalal  

South Asia’s fastest sprinter and Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist Yupun Abeykoon returned to the athletic field after a short break in a spectacular manner as he started the 2024 season victoriously. Abeykoon, who participated in the Florence Sprint Festival 2024 held in Italy, won first place in the 150m event clocking his second fastest time ever finishing in 15.19s.  
It is also significant that the ace sprinter holds the Asian record for the 150m event by completing it with a time of 15.16s.  
He holds the Sri Lankan records in all three events 100m, 200m and 150m. He missed the opportunity to participate in the World Athletics Championships and the Asian Games last year due to an injury.  
As a result, he was able to participate only in a limited number of events last year and it is a remarkable performance that he was able to perform in the first event after a long break.  
“I think Yupun finished his race successfully and with few more international events lined up for the next two months, his chances of reaching Olympic Qualifications are really good,” Sri Lanka Athletic Secretary Saman Kumara Gunawardena told the ‘Daily Mirror’ yesterday.   
Abeykoon’s next international assignment will be the Dubai International Grand Pix Meet in the United Arab Emirates on May 3, where he is set to compete in the 100m event with other athletic stars.   
After the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Yupun missed out on the Bangkok Asian Athletic Championships (2023), Budapest World Athletic Championships (2023) and the Hangzhou Asian Games (2023).  The South Asian fastest sprinter hopes to finish the 100m event in less than 10.00s before the IAAF deadline of June 30 to achieve Olympic Qualification for the Paris Games from July 27 to August 13 in France.