Aruna Darshana, who made history as the first Sri Lankan athlete in 24 years to reach the semi-finals in the Olympics, faced a disappointing disqualification for violating lane rules.
According to competition regulations, he was required to stay within lane number 4 from the start to the finish of the 400m race, but touched lane 3 around the 200-metre mark.
Despite completing the race yesterday (06) with an impressive time of 44.75 seconds, Aruna’s performance was not included in the official result sheet.
The time he clocked at 11:05 PM Sri Lankan time at the Stade de France in Paris would have been sufficient to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo next year, even though it did not secure him a spot in the final.
Aruna came close to breaking the Sri Lankan record of 44.61 seconds set by Sugath Thilakaratne in 1998 in Fukuoka, Japan, 26 years ago.
(dailynews.lk)
