Village lass Nethmika set to take top spot in Asia

by Reemus Fernando

In what could be considered a unique achievement for a lass hailing from a far-flung village, Nethmika Madushani Herath of Medagama in Bibile is set to overtake China’s Lianying Liao as the top long jumper in her age category so far in Asia this year.

The athlete from Nannapurava MV, Moneragala produced an outstanding feat in the Under 18 girls’ long jump at the Junior National Athletics Championships at the Sugathadasa Stadium early this week.

The athlete trained by Krishantha Kumara cleared a distance of 5.98 metres to establish a new meet record on day one of the championships which was curtailed by the curfew imposed in the afternoon on Monday.

She broke a record which had stood for 18 years. No one had cleared a distance over 5.77 metres without the aid of wind since Ishali Chandrasekara of Ferguson Girls’ School, Ratnapura cleared that distance in 2004.

There had been other notable achievements in the long jump since then but most of them had not been recognized due to wind assistance. Sadeepa Henderson of Gateway College, Colombo cleared a distance of 5.82 metres to a tailwind of +4.0 in 2019.

According to World Athletics standings, Nethmika was ranked second in Asia behind China’s Lianying Liao prior to the meet. That was on merit of her 5.76 metres achievements in February this year. Lianying Liao’s best achievement this year is a feat of 5.97 metres in April.

Nethmika’s outstanding feat of 5.98 metres will now elevate her to the top spot in Asia in the Youth category. In the world’s top list, her performance will rank joint seventh alongside the same distance cleared by Elizabeth Ndudi of France.

On Monday, Nethmika missed the National Youth record of 6.02 metres held by Ridma Nishadi after one of her better jumps was ruled illegal. With several junior meets scheduled for this year that mark will be under threat.

Nethmika, who will for her O/L exam in a fortnight’s time will take the top position in the list of Asian jumpers in her age category after Sri Lanka Athletics submit the results after the conclusion of the Junior National Championships.

The four-day event which began on Monday had to be postponed after goons attacked peaceful protestors in Colombo triggering countrywide violence.

Sri Lanka Athletics will announce dates for the remaining events of the Junior National Athletics Championships after normalcy returns.