Colombo, Sri Lanka, September 14, 2026: Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage continued his outstanding season by winning the men’s javelin title at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 with a 91.09m effort in Budapest on Sunday.
The 23-year-old former fast bowler will now set his sights on winning the gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games which officially open on Saturday, September 19.
Rumesh Tharanga has had a remarkable 2026 campaign having won the Commonwealth Games gold and dominating the Diamond League circuit with victories in Rome, Doha, Lausanne and Zurich before becoming the first Sri Lankan to win the Diamond League Final.
Rumesh finished comfortably ahead of Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who took second place with 86.18m. Germany’s Julian Weber completed the podium with 85.89m.
“My first throw was in the 75m range,” Rumesh told Olympics.com. “I was under a lot of pressure because, after the first few throws, low-scoring competitors get eliminated. Ultimately, I was able to secure the trophy I hoped for.”
Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem finished fifth with a season-best of 81.49m.
Rumesh’s 91.09m throw was the third time he had crossed the 90 metre mark this season – setting a Sri Lankan national record of 92.62m in Rome in June, and 92.07m to win the Zurich Diamond League last month.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is a new global competition launched in 2026 as a season-ending showcase bringing together Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners and the year’s leading athletes.