Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga has thrown the eighth-best distance of all time in the Men’s Javelin

Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga threw the eighth-best javelin throw of all time at the 2026 Rome Diamond League event on Thursday (June 4).

At a distance of 92.62 meters, it was the second-best effort by an Asian athlete, falling 35 centimeters short of breaking the Asian record held by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem when he won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Tharanga also became the first Sri Lankan to win a Diamond League event, breaking a 20-year meeting record and finishing ahead of Grenadian Anderson Peters, who threw a distance of 83.91 meters.

Significance

Tharanga became the first Sri Lankan to clear the 90-meter mark in the event's history—a mark that has been passed only 27 times before.

Tharanga bettered his previous personal best, which was also the national record, by over three meters.

Four of Tharanga’s five career-best throws have now come in 2026 alone, with the athlete slated to take part in the Golden Spike Ostrava and Doha Diamond League meets later this month.