Yupun Abeykoon, Asia’s fastest runner in the 150m race and winner of a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games for the 100m sprint, came back strong after nearly a year lay off from competitive athletics. On Saturday he triumphed in the 150m race at the Florence Sprint Festival held in Stadio Luigi Ridolfi in the city of Florence, Italy.
Abeykoon, who lives in Italy, dashed across the finish line in 15.19 seconds, leaving behind six Italian competitors in the first final race. He’s 29 years old and already holds the Asia record for the 150m race, which he set in 2022 in Italy.
In this race, Chituru Ali came second with a time of 15.20 seconds, earning the silver medal, while Mattia Donola took the bronze with a time of 15.74 seconds. All other participants were Italians, and the second final also featured Italian runners.
Abeykoon is a big deal in Sri Lanka’s athletics scene, holding national records in the 100m, 150m, and 200m races. He missed out on the last Asian Games due to injuries, but his comeback is a huge morale boost ahead of the Paris Summer Olympics later this year.
Back in 2019, Abeykoon helped Sri Lanka win gold in the men’s 4 × 100m relay event at the South Asian Games. He was part of the team that set new national and South Asian Games records in that event.
Yupun Abeykoon, who made history as the first Sri Lankan athlete to win a Commonwealth Games 100-metre medal at Birmingham 2022, has been awarded a grant of Rs.36 million to support his training for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Having represented Sri Lanka in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Abeykoon is aiming to compete in the 100m race at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, scheduled from July 26 to August 11.
Sajeewa Jayakody
