The 29th of September marks a historic day for Sri Lankans as Susanthika Jayasinghe won the Silver medal (Bronze at the Podium) in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She became the 2nd Sri Lankan after Duncan White since 1948 to win a medal at an Olympics.
Marion Jones was the winner on that day but after being found guilty for using steroids, she was stripped off her Gold Medal and Susanthika was given the Silver Medal. She clocked 22.28 seconds in the 200m finals that day and it is still the fastest timing for a Sri Lankan female athlete in 200m.
It should be noted that still she is the only Asian to win a medal in a sprinting event and remains one of the greatest Asian Athletes of all time in short distance running. From humble beginnings, she worked hard to reach the greatest achievements an athlete can possibly achieve and thus making Sri Lanka a very proud nation that day.
Sri Lanka Sports was also one of the first news providers to report this historic news exactly 21 years ago and was privileged to have interviewed her after the race. Words in her mother tongue could not explain the joy and pride she had at that moment upon this win she worked tirelessly
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