Sri Lanka Athletics has released the schedule of a special trial focusing on 3000m Steeplechase and Long Jump athletes which will be held on June 19th.
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The competition which is named as “3000m SC & Long Jump Challenge Competition” will have the said events for both Men’s and Women’s categories in Diyagama track. A total of 35 athletes are scheduled to take part in this trial.
Sri Lanka National Champions Sarangi Silva (Long Jump) and Nilani Ratnayake (3000m SC) will be in focus in this competition as it will be their final opportunity to solidify their position in the ‘Road to Oregon 2022’ rankings.
‘Road to Oregon’ rankings is a list maintained by World Athletics to determine the qualification for World Athletics Championships 2022 which will be held in the USA from 15th -24th July.
Sarangi Silva is currently ranked 32nd in this ranking with 1172 points. Incidentally, the quota for Long Jump is also 32 and she needs to be within the top 32 places in the rankings to qualify for the World Athletics Championships 2022 by the end of 26th June 2022.
Since there are 10 more days left before the cutoff, her position in the top 32 is not yet guaranteed and this competition will provide her an opportunity to seal her spot.
Meanwhile, Nilani Ratnayake is on the safe side compared to Silva, as she is ranked 37th in a quota of 45. Ratnayake didn’t compete in any meet after National Championship where she renewed the National record for 3000m SC (09.40.24min).
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This event will also be a great opportunity for Junior Long Jumper Hirusha Hashen who has qualified for the upcoming World Junior Championships which will be held from 2 to 7 August 2022 at the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, Colombia. Hashen has a personal best of 7.67m this season and will be eyeing to improve that performance in the mix of senior competitors.
Full Schedule
