Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage throws 92.62m javelin in Rome; first Sri Lankan 90m+

Commonwealth Games 2026: Meet Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, the new javelin star putting Sri Lanka on the world map

All Sri Lankan eyes at Glasgow 2026 will be on their golden boy Pathirage, who has taken the javelin throw world by storm. Here he tells Olympics.com about his promising career and big aspirations.

With passion in his heart and fire in his belly, Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage let out a huge roar, unleashing the javelin from his right arm. And before the steel spear could kiss the green grass, the Sri Lankan knew good news was coming.

It was a balmy June evening in Rome, the Italian city with a fabled past. For 23-year-old Pathirage, it is now the lucky place where he scripted history of his own.

At the 2026 Rome Diamond League , watched on by a handful of his supporters proudly waving the Sri Lankan flag, Pathirage launched an incredible 92.62m throw - one that remains the best in the world this season and the second-best Asian throw of all time.

“When I released the javelin, I thought it would be an Asian record. Still, it was massive,” Pathirage told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview.

“I was happy from the bottom of my heart.”

The gigantic effort - one that sits just behind Paris 2024 Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem ’s 92.97m in the all-time Asian bests - propelled Pathirage to fame far beyond Rome.

Breaking the meeting record after 20 years and etching his name as the first Sri Lankan and only the fourth Asian to cross the challenging 90m mark, Pathirage caught the attention of the athletics world.

It marked another instance of the recent South Asian dominance in javelin on the world stage - first it was Neeraj Chopra of India, then came Pakistan’s Nadeem. Now it’s Sri Lanka and Pathirage’s time to shine.

But the young dreamer from Kalutara - a city south of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo - said things could have been different, warning he has more in store.

“Watching from the pavilion end, I could notice that throw was not straight, it was a bit curved from my direction,” he recalled.

“Had it gone straight, it would have crossed 95 or 96 metres on that day.”

From one throwing sport to another

Setting a world-leading score calls for a celebration. Most people mark an achievement by throwing a party, having a drink or two. But Pathirage had different plans.

He played cricket - the most popular sport in his homeland.

“I love playing cricket in my free time,” he said. “Whenever I’m back home I love playing softball cricket with my friends in our village - it helps me relax; take my mind off my professional javelin.”

Like most people growing up in South Asia, Pathirage also played cricket in his younger days, trying his luck as a fast bowler.

Cricket and javelin are believed to share a bio-mechanical connection, with shared elements such as hip drive, the “block” phase, and over-arm whipping motions.

And while fast bowling helped Pathirage in some aspects of javelin, he explained how the two have stark differences.

“When I throw the javelin, I use the force of my upper body from my hip,” he said. “But in cricket, bowlers rely on the mobility and force of their lower body to their arm. They’re quite different techniques.”

Pathirage’s current rise to the top of athletics follows the Sri Lankan success of the yesteryears.

Duncan White won the country’s first Olympic medal, a silver in the men’s 400m hurdles medal at London 1948 , while Susanthika Jayasinghe won silver in the women’s 200m at Sydney 2000 .

In recent times, Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon won the men’s 100m silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games but the island nation’s athletics achievers have been few and far between.

“Cricketers are the most popular characters in Sri Lanka, though the fame is slowly shifting to athletics,” Pathirage said.

“After my massive throw and recent results, people are watching athletics again. It makes me very happy.

“Javelin throw has not been very popular in Sri Lanka - our athletes are mostly focused on 100m or 200m sprints.

“But now kids are trying their hands at the art of throwing - not just a javelin but anything they can find.”

Throwing a metal-tipped spear overarm as far as it can go without surpassing the throwing arc takes skill, speed and strength.

A superstar in the making

Since his world-lead throw in Rome, Pathirage has earned back-to-back first-place finishes, at the Doha Diamond League and Ostrava Golden Spike in June.

Of the eight meets he has participated in this year, he has won all except for the Rabat Diamond League , where he came second.

Almost unstoppable, the in-form javelin star is a front-runner for the gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

“The men’s javelin throw at the Commonwealth Games is not an easy competition anymore because a lot of podium finishers in international fields are now from this region,” Pathirage said when asked about his thoughts on Glasgow 2026.

“Arshad Nadeem has not competed much so we can’t predict. Right now, I am focusing on a few athletes like Anderson Peters [from Grenada].

“Glasgow will have the same atmosphere as the ones I experienced at the Doha and other Diamond League events so it’ll be a massive contest.”

Sri Lanka have not won a Commonwealth Games gold medal since Melbourne 2006 when weightlifter Chinthana Vidanage won the men’s 62kg competition. Pathirage is also bidding to end Sri Lanka’s 76-year wait for an athletics gold at CWG.

India’s Neeraj Chopra and Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

As the qualifiers for the men’s javelin throw at Glasgow 2026 begin on Thursday (31 July), Pathirage will be re-united with his good friend Chopra, one of India’s only two Olympic gold medallists and the first to do so in athletics.

Pathirage could well be the next man to beat Chopra and Nadeem to the honour of the No. 1 status in the Indian subcontinent.

The youngster from Sri Lanka holds a lot of admiration for Tokyo 2020 champion Chopra, who, interestingly, gave him his first taste of a gold-level ranking meet.

In July 2025, Pathirage was invited to the Neeraj Chopra Classic - India’s first javelin throw event - in the southern city of Bengaluru. While Chopra gold won at that meet, Pathirage took home the bronze, just behind former world champion, Kenya’s Julius Yego .

“Neeraj Chopra is a massive character to South Asia,” Pathirage said.

“I am very close to him and when we meet in competitions, we talk about javelin and other day-to-day things.

“India lined up a big long-term plan with Neeraj and he has achieved it. The Olympic gold was a really proud moment for him and his country and I’m happy for him.”

Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage of Team Sri Lanka competes during the men’s javelin throw final at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 at National Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

One day, Pathirage, too, would like to stand on the podium at the Olympic Games.

He came agonisingly close to earning the opportunity at Paris 2024 , only to miss the automatic qualification mark by a mere 5cm.

“In the current competition, I am the youngest among the athletes so I am just trying my best. I want to win the first-ever gold medal for Sri Lanka at LA28 ,” he said of his aspirations, with two years to go.

“Nowadays, I keep an eye on other athletes who cross the 85m-mark but I am mainly focused on my performance.”

Still getting his head around the enormity of his steep rise, Pathirage said he was surprised how the year has turned out.

“I never thought 2026 would be such a massive year!” he exclaimed.

“I didn’t expect such a good performance at the Diamond League or those massive throws. I really didn’t plan on those.

“Since I took up javelin throw in 2017, I have been improving my personal best every year. Now I am worried how do I cross my 92m mark?”

Some would argue that is a good problem to have.

By Manasi Pathak Jo Gunston

23 July - 2 August

Commonwealth Games 2026 | Glasgow | United Kingdom