Javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga has said he intends to compete at the 2028, 2032 and 2036 Olympic Games and then retire, setting out a ten-year plan at the launch of a biographical book in Colombo.
The book, “Adhishtanaye Ran Salakuna — Rumesh” (The Golden Mark of Determination — Rumesh), documents his life and sporting career, the Daily Mirror reported.
The target: 92.97 metres
Tharanga’s stated objective is to break the Olympic record — 92.97 metres, set by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem at the Paris 2024 Games — and to do it at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Hiru News reported.
He said he was confident of averaging more than 90 metres by those Games, and that the record remains his main focus. He then plans to contest the 2032 Games in Brisbane before finishing his career at the 2036 Games in India.
One correction on the venues. The Daily Mirror’s report describes the target as “the 2028 Paris Games”. The 2028 Olympics are in Los Angeles; Paris hosted in 2024, which is where Nadeem’s record was set. Hiru’s account separates the two correctly, and this report follows it.
A jump from 25th to 13th — but read which ranking
Separately, World Athletics’ latest update moved Tharanga from 25th to 13th in its overall rankings, the table covering athletes across all disciplines. He is now the highest-ranked Asian athlete in that overall category, Hiru reported.
That figure sits alongside, and does not replace, his event ranking: he retains world No. 1 in the javelin, the position he held earlier this week. Anderson Peters of Grenada is second in the javelin and Germany’s Julian Weber third.
The two numbers measure different things. Thirteenth is his standing among every ranked athlete in the sport; first is his standing among javelin throwers. A move to 13th is a rise, not a demotion.
Against a difficult fortnight
The plans were set out days after Tharanga’s competition javelins were destroyed in transit, damage that Civil Aviation Authority talks later attributed to Turkish Airlines, and after Araliya Group chairman Dudley Sirisena pledged to supply him with replacement javelins annually until he wins an Olympic gold.
Not reported
Neither outlet says where the book was launched, who published it, who wrote it, or whether it is available in English. Neither gives Tharanga’s current personal best, which would show how far 92.97 metres is from his present range, and neither says whether the replacement javelins have reached him.
Nor does either report say whether he will compete at the Asian Games, or address the 2036 host arrangements beyond describing the Games as being in India.
