Susanthika to run both 100 and 200m at world meet - Lakbimanews

Susanthika to run both 100 and 200m at world meet

Champika Fernando

Susanthika Jayasinghe has slipped back on her decision to skip the shorter sprint at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Osaka this month.
Thus, the renowned sprinter will feature in the 100m dash in addition to the longer version, 200m dash. Jayasinghe earlier said she would only concentrate on the 200m dash at the World Championships, as she is focused on winning her second medal at the event.
Jayasinghe clocked 22.38 seconds ten years back in Athens to raise the Lankan flag high on air as she won country’s first ever medal, a silver at the meet.
Jayasinghe, who is currently in Los Angeles for a brief training stint before the mega event in Japan, clocked a improved 11.19 seconds to win gold at the recent Asian Championships; thereafter has been advised to compete in both sprints.
“She informed me of her decision,” said Prema Pinnawela, athletics secretary.
Jayasinghe has never won a medal beyond Asia in the 100m dash as she is a vulnerable starter.
“I have a very poor start which I couldn’t get over,” she said earlier reasoning out her decision to skip the 100m dash.
Jayasinghe, Sri Lanka’s only competitor at the World meet, will fly directly from the USA to Japan where a host of Sri Lankan officials are set to accompany the star-sprinter.
Meanwhile, former Sri Lanka high jump champion Nagalingam Ethirveerasingham, who helps the champion sprinter in the USA told LAKBIMAnEWS, that Jayasinghe is well focused on the event.
“We couldn’t get Tony (Campbell) this time as he is in Europe with his athletes. But I have got a very good coach, who has trained a number of USA national athletes. He has given Jayasinghe the workouts. I am helping her,” Ethirveerasingham, who won Sri Lanka’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal in high jump, said.
“She is doing very well. I expect her to run faster than her personal best times in the 100m and 200m. To me that is the most important achievement. It is an added bonus if those times are good enough to get a medal,” he further said.
Meanwhile, the Olympic bronze medallist Jayasinghe has been offered a further training stint in the USA from January to July in view of the next year’s Beijing Olympics.
“I expect her to train in Los Angeles under the same coach from January till July 2008 to prepare for Beijing. It’ll give her a chance to get a medal better than bronze. I hope the government will help her to train in LA for seven months continuously,” he further said.