Ramesh Tharanga has been included in the 10-person shortlist for the World's Best Athlete of the Year.

Marking a new chapter in Sri Lankan athletics history, 23-year-old Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage has succeeded in surpassing a unique milestone that no Sri Lankan has ever been able to achieve in the history of World Athletics Awards. This comes with his nomination for the 'Athlete of the Year' award for 2026, presented by World Athletics.

As confirmed by Sri Lanka Athletics, this is the first time a Sri Lankan's name has been proposed for this prestigious award.

Currently ranked number one in the world for the men's javelin throw, Rumesh displayed a series of outstanding performances this year. So far this year, he was strong enough to claim gold medals in 13 out of the 14 international competitions he participated in. This young athlete, who has recorded a personal best of 92.62 meters, won the gold medal at the 20th Asian Games held in Nagoya, Japan, on September 28th, with a throw of 88.55 meters. Prior to that, his gold medal victory at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 31st, with a throw of 89.75 meters, was another significant achievement in his current season.

It is reported that Rumesh's nomination for the World's Best Athlete award is primarily due to his high achievements in the major Diamond and Ultimate League athletics series held in Europe. However, he will not have to compete alone for this international award. Ten other athletes who have shown exceptional international performances worldwide this year have also been nominated alongside him for this award.

As the next step, only three athletes will be selected from this list of nominees for the final recommendation. Among those final three, who will be crowned the World's Best Athlete for 2026 will be officially announced on the 29th of next month at the World Athletics Awards ceremony in Monaco, Italy.