Prince of Sprint brings pride to Sri Lanka

Trains in hope of glory at Paris Olympics

He is not an actor; he’s not a star – and at one time in his early career at least, he probably didn’t even own a car!

But the young man who was even then on the fast track and went on to become Sri Lanka’s ‘prince of sprint’ certainly had what it takes from an early stage in his professional run so to say, to exhilarate our island’s youth… who recently, perhaps more than ever, were struggling to grasp a sense of the true meaning of life.

In April 2022, Yupun Abeykoon set a new Asian record – he clocked an awe-inspiring 15.16 seconds – in the men’s 150 metres event while competing for the Perseo Trophy, which was held in Italy; where by the way, the 28-year-old Sri Lankan athlete lives and trains, in pursuit of his personal goals and professional dreams.

A short sprint of three months later, the ever improving athlete established Sri Lankan and South Asian records – breasting the tape in 9.96 seconds – to win the 100 metres event at the Resisprint International competition, which was held in Switzerland in July 2022.

And in less than a month thereafter, our fastest man in the track and field arena at the time bagged a bronze in the men’s 100 metres event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a rapid sprint to the finish line in 10.14 seconds. And so he became the first Sri Lankan to win a medal at such a distance in this competitive athletics contest.

But that is by no means the end of the line for the dashing Yupun Abeykoon…

He is reported to have said in the aftermath of the Commonwealth Games that “this is just the start of more big things to come in the future. I’m going to keep working hard…” – perhaps an allusion to his aspirations for the Summer Olympics in Paris, scheduled to take place in July-August 2024.

So this young man on whose youthful shoulders the dreams of a younger generation of Sri Lankans in general and professional sportspersons in particular are riding works hard at training in Italy.

It is where Yupun Abeykoon – our national record-holder in the men’s 100 metres and indoor 60 metres events – is presently based… in the hope of future glory for self and country.

This young man on whose youthful shoulders the dreams of a younger generation of Sri Lankans in general and professional sportspersons in particular are riding works hard at training in Italy