Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage became the first javelin thrower to cross the 90-metre mark in the 2026 season after recording a world-leading 92.62m at the Rome Diamond League on Thursday. It set a new meet record and a national record in the process. He also surpassed Neeraj Chopraโs record, who hit the 90.23-metre mark in the Doha Diamond League in 2025.ย
Meanwhile, the throw elevated him to eighth place on the all-time list. He became the second Asian, after Pakistanโs Arshad Nadeem, to feature in the elite list.
Top 10 biggest javelin throws in history:
| Player | Throw | Year |
| Jan Zelenzny | 98.48 | 1996 |
| Johannes Vetter | 97.76 | 2020 |
| Thomas Rohler | 93.90 | 2017 |
| Aki Parviainen | 93.09 | 1999 |
| Anderson Peters | 93.07 | 2022 |
| Arshad Nadeem | 92.97 | 2024 |
| Julius Yego | 92.72 | 2015 |
| Rumesh Pathirage | 92.62 | 2026 |
| Sergey Markarov | 92.61 | 2002 |
| Raymond Hecht | 92.60 | 1995 |
The mark also extended a consistent run of performances for Pathirage, who had already broken Sri Lanka’s national record earlier this year with 89.37m before producing another 89m-plus throw at the Kip Keino Classic in April.
Up against world champion Keshorn Walcott, former world champion Anderson Peters, Olympic champion Thomas Rohler and Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch, Pathirage took control of the competition early. He opened with 84.49m before producing his winning throw in the second round. All his remaining throws ended in fouls.
On the other hand, Indiaโs Neeraj Chopra didnโt participate in the tournament due to an ongoing injury. He is expected to return in the Asian Games later in the year.ย
Pathirageโs journey from cricket to javelin
Pathirage’s rise continues a remarkable transition from cricket to athletics. A former medium pacer, he regularly bowled above 130 kph during his teenage years and once touched 134 kph in the Under-18 category. He has experience of playing alongside Eshan Malinga, who now plays for Sri Lanka and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The pacer is also SRHโs leading wicket-taker in IPL 2026.
The result also strengthens the field expected at the 2026 Asian Games, where Pathirage could compete against double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and reigning Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem.
Sachin Yadav flops in Diamond League
India’s Sachin Yadav finished eighth on his Diamond League debut with a best throw of 79.18m. Attempting to achieve the Athletics Federation of India’s Commonwealth Games qualification standard of 82.61m, he failed to cross the 80m mark for the second successive tournament.
After opening with a foul, Yadav registered throws of 79.18m, 77.02m, 76.62m and 75.54m. Anderson Peters placed second with 83.91m, while American Curtis Thompson finished third with 82.44m.
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