Olympian Aruna Darshana clocked a seasonal best of 20.52 seconds in the 200m to win gold at the 2025 Army Athletics Championship, held at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Diyagama today. This was his second-best performance in the event, and the third-fastest time ever recorded by a Sri Lankan—behind his own 20.45 last year and Yupun Abeykoon’s national record of 20.37 set in 2022.
Darshana famously clocked 44.99 seconds at the Paris Olympic Games, becoming the only Sri Lankan male athlete to reach the 400m Olympic semifinals—a feat that even legends like Sugath Thilakarathne and Rohan Pradeep Kumara couldn’t achieve. He also became the first Sri Lankan since Thilakarathne to dip under the 45-second barrier in the 400m.
In the semifinals, Darshana finished fifth with a blistering 44.75 seconds but was later disqualified for a lane infringement, as officials claimed his foot touched the inside line of his lane. The disqualification cost him a direct qualification spot for next month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where the entry standard is 44.89 seconds.
Earlier this year, Darshana struggled to find form and lacked sufficient performances to qualify via world rankings. Now, he faces the daunting task of running below 44.89 seconds to secure a place at the World Championships.
Despite the less-than-ideal conditions at the Diyagama track, Darshana is determined to make his mark in today’s 400m final. His 200m time suggests he has regained form and could be poised for his best 400m performance of the season.
- Long Jump: Dhananjana Ranasgalla soared to a personal best of 6.20m, setting a new meet record in the women’s long jump.
- Girls’ 4x100m Relay: The SLSC team—Safiya Yamic, T.A. Muthukumarana, Omaya Sathsarani, and Amasha de Silva—clocked 46.82 seconds to win gold and break the meet record.
- Javelin Throw: Sumedha Ranasinghe claimed gold with a throw of 79.49m, also setting a new meet record.