Surpasses Menaka with fourth fastest time in 400 metres history

by Reemus Fernando

Asian Games hopeful Tharushi Karunaratne smashed the National Junior record in the girls’ 400 metres with a remarkable 52.62 seconds feat to win the Girls’ Under 20 400 metres on the penultimate day of the Sir John Tarbat Senior Athletics Championships at the Sugathadasa Stadium on Friday.

The Ratnayake Central Walala prodigy who recently hogged limelight breaking the 800 metres meet record at the Asian Athletics Championships skipped her pet event as she is preparing for the Asian Games commencing later this month.

Her coach Susantha Fernando said that she would only take part in the one lap race as she was preparing for the quadrennial event in China. Hence the 4×400 metres relay is the only other event that she will take part in these championships ending on Saturday.

With her superior feat she beat her closest rival, M.H. Dewmini of Visakha Girls High School Badulla by almost five seconds.

Yesterday, Karunaratne smashed both the meet record and the National Junior Record with her stunning 52.62 seconds performance, which is also her personal best. She broke her own national junior record which she created last year and destroyed Chandrika Subashini’s 2006 meet record of 55.24 seconds. Last year Karunaratne equalled Subashini’s feat with an identical time at these championships. With her 52.62 feat she surpassed Menaka Wickramasinghe (52.93secs) to secure the fourth place in the list of all time fastest performers in the women’s 400metres for Sri Lanka.

With her record-breaking performance yesterday, Karunaratne has not only become the fastest teenager in the history over the 400 metres but has also indicated her readiness for the major Asian event where she is set to compete in three events, namely the 800metres and the women’s and mixed 4x400metres relays.