Mother of former Olympian Susanthika Jayasinghe passes away

Manikpurage Baby Nona, the mother of former Sri Lankan Olympian Susanthika Jayasinghe, has passed away at the age of 81. She died at the National Hospital in Colombo.

Her remains are placed at 86/2 C, 2nd Lane, Makola North, Makola.

Susanthika Jayasinghe, born December 17, 1975, is a retired Sri Lankan sprinter specializing in the 100 and 200 meters. She is renowned for winning the Olympic silver medal in the 200m event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, making her the second Sri Lankan to win an Olympic medal after Duncan White and the first Asian woman to win an Olympic or World Championship medal in a sprint event. Jayasinghe is also the only Asian athlete to have claimed an Olympic medal in sprint events and remains the first and only Sri Lankan to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.

Her silver medal achievement at the Sydney Olympics stood as the only Olympic medal for a South Asian in athletics for 21 years until Neeraj Chopra's gold medal win at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Fondly nicknamed the Asian Black Mare, Jayasinghe has represented Sri Lanka at the Olympics on three occasions: 1996, 2000, and 2008, and is considered one of the most decorated sprinters in Sri Lanka.

Jayasinghe rose to prominence at 18 after winning gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m events at the 1994 Asian Junior Championships in Jakarta. She then joined the Sri Lankan national athletic squad for the 1994 Asian Games. At the 1995 South Asian Games, she claimed gold medals in the 100m and 200m sprint events and silver medals at the Australian Open and Taipei Open.

At 20, she made her Olympic debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics, competing in the women's 100m event. She won a silver medal in the women's 200m race at the 1997 World Championships, becoming the first Sri Lankan to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.

In the 2000 Summer Olympics, Jayasinghe initially finished with a bronze medal in the women's 200 meters but was later awarded the silver medal after Marion Jones admitted to doping. Jayasinghe also won gold medals in the 100m and 200m at the 2007 Asian Athletics Championships in Jordan and a bronze medal in the 200m race at the 2007 IAAF World Championships, marking her first World Championship medal in 10 years. On August 13, 2007, the IAAF ranked her 18th in the world for the 100m sprint and 20th for the 200m sprint.