Sydney 2000. The Olympic Games saw one American, two Bahamians, a Jamaican, a Ukrainian, two Australians and a sole Asian contender in the Women’s 200m final.
Sri Lanka was already content with an athlete qualifying for an OLYMPIC FINAL, but one Ms Susanthika Jayasinghe set the country alight with her blistering run.
In her one and only attempt in an Olympic final, Jayasinghe brought home a Silver medal to become the first Asian to win an Olympic medal in a sprint event.
Her silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics also stood as the only Olympic Medal for a South Asian in Athletics for 21 years, before Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
It has been 21 years since that day, when Jayasinghe had all Sri Lankans glued to their tvs.
Relive some of Jayasinghe’s 200m sprints over the years, watch the best of Susanthika Jayasinghe:
>>www.thepapare.com/athletics<<
