Sri Lanka’s Pathirage overtakes Neeraj Chopra on Asian all-time list with world-leading 92.62m throw

Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage produced one of the finest javelin throws of his career, smashing the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meeting record with a world-leading 92.62m effort at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rome. Reflecting on the achievement, the 23-year-old said the victory “felt like a Sri Lankan festival”.

Pathirage became the first Sri Lankan ever and the first athlete in 2026 to breach the coveted 90m mark. After opening with an impressive 84.49m throw, a distance that would have been enough to secure gold on its own, he unleashed a sensational second-round effort of 92.62m to take complete control of the competition.

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The throw was the best recorded in the world since the men’s javelin final at the Paris 2024 Olympics and secured Pathirage a commanding victory over two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who finished second with 83.91m. World bronze medallist Curtis Thompson claimed third place with a best effort of 83.89m, according to World Athletics statistics.

“I tried my best today to set a national record and I managed to improve it by three metres,” Pathirage said after the event.

“Even though I had only two valid attempts today, I am very stable mentally. It was very hot in Rabat, but the weather in Rome was good and felt like ideal conditions in which to throw far. Winning today felt like a Sri Lankan festival.”

His 92.62m effort eclipsed the previous meeting record of 90.34m, set by Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen two decades ago. The mark also propelled Pathirage to eighth place on the world all-time list and made him the second-best Asian javelin thrower in history.

Pathirage moves ahead of Neeraj Chopra on Asian all-time javelin list

The Sri Lankan’s stunning 92.62m effort propelled him to eighth on the world all-time rankings and made him the second-best Asian javelin thrower in history. Only Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, whose personal best stands at 92.97m, has thrown farther among Asian athletes.

The throw also moved Pathirage ahead of Cheng Chao-Tsun (91.36m) and India’s Neeraj Chopra (90.23m) on the continental all-time list, underlining the magnitude of his breakthrough performance in Rome.

While Pathirage stole the spotlight in Rome, India’s Sachin Yadav endured a difficult Diamond League debut, finishing eighth in a 10-man field with a best throw of 79.18m.

The 26-year-old was competing in his first international event since finishing fourth at the World Championships in Tokyo last year, where he registered a personal best of 86.27m. In that competition, Yadav had finished ahead of compatriot Neeraj Chopra, who placed eighth with a throw of 84.03m.