Asian Games medallist Tharushi Karunarathna’s chances of securing a berth at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, have been hindered due to the Sri Lanka Athletics officials failing to provide a suitable running track for the qualification event.
Tharushi Karunarathna participated in the Women’s 800m event at the 102nd National Athletics Championship 2024 at Diyagama on Friday.
The athlete who is vying for a spot in the Paris Olympics was forced to take part in her event on rain-hit and flooded running tracks.
Despite her coach having requested the Sri Lanka Athletics officials to delay the event and clean the water from the first lane of the running track, which is important for the runners, the athletes were made to compete in unsuitable conditions.
As a result, Tharushi Karunarathna who had trained for a time of 02:03:00 clocked in a time of 02:04:22 in the Women’s 800m event putting her chances of securing a spot in the Paris Olympics in jeopardy.
According to Tharushi Karunarathna’s coach, if she had been able to contest under suitable conditions then the athlete would have increased her world rankings to 39 but had only reached 42nd rank due to the current situation.
The coach further pointed out that only 48 qualifications are allowed for the Women’s 800m event in the Paris Olympics, with the deadline for Olympic qualifications ending on June 30, 2024.
Tharushi Karunarathna’s coach states with two more days of competitions going on the world over, the Sri Lankan athlete may lose her opportunity to qualify for the Olympics, which could have been avoided if she was allowed to compete in suitable conditions in Diyagama. (Newswire)