Rumesh Pathirage becomes first Javelin Thrower to cross 90m in 2026 season

3 min readUpdated: Jun 5, 2026 01:36 AM IST

Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka recorded his personal best and new world lead of 92.67m at Rome Diamond League. (X/Wanda Diamond League)

23-year-old Sri Lankan Javelin thrower Rumesh Pathirage became the first thrower to cross the 90m mark in the 2026 season. He threw 92.62m at the Rome Diamond League on Thursday night to make the new meet record, new national record for Sri Lanka, and take the World lead. With this huge throw, Rumesh sits eighth in the all-time list of the Javelin throwers. He overtook current India national coach Sergey Makarov.

One of the most consistent throwers this season, Rumesh broke the national record earlier in March and took the world lead with 89.37m throw. He crossed 89m again at the Kip Kenio Classic in April throwing 89.28m

Competing in an elite field with current world champion Keshorn Walcott, former world champion Anderson Peters, former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler, former Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch, Rumesh took the lead with his first throw of 84.49m and recorded 92.67m in his second throw. His rest four throws were foul.

A medium pacer turned thrower, Rumesh trains under his coach Tony Prasanna.“It was coach Tony who introduced me to javelin. He always tells me that if I master the basics and do them the right way, I will eventually reap the rewards. He is more than a coach. He doesn’t just teach me the sport but about life as well,” Rumesh had told The Indian Express in an earlier interview.

Incredible consistency

With Rumesh’s rise, the Asian Games 2026 will feature an elite field with the likes of Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem featuring in the event. Consistency has been trademark of Rumesh throughout his career. Unlike the talented but erratic former Sri Lankan thrower Sumedha Ranasinghe, the first of his country to cross 85m and then slipped, Rumesh has consistently crossed 82m-mark (13 times in the 2025 season).

“I had a successful season last year and finished seventh in my very first World Championships. Because of that, I am trying to push myself to achieve even more this season,” Rumesh had said.

Sachin disappoints

Indian Javelin thrower Sachin Yadav finished eighth on his Diamond League debut with a poor throw of 79.18m. Competing in a bid to breach the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 82.61m set by Athletics Federation of India, Sachin failed to cross the 80m mark. After Federation Cup in Ranchi earlier this month, this is second consecutive tournament where Sachin hasn’t crossed the 80m mark.

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He started with a foul throw and recorded 79.18m mark in his second throw. However, he failed to better that effort in his subsequent throws with marks of 77.02m, 76.62m, 75.54m. Former World champion Anderson Peters finished second with 83.91m while USA’s Curtis Thompson finished third with 82.44m.