Yupun finishes second at Savona International

Sri Lankan sprinting sensation Yupun Abeykoon finished in second place in the Men’s 100m Final at the 12th International Meeting ‘Citta’ Di Savona’ which took place on Wednesday (24) in Savona, Italy.

Abeykoon clocked 10.01 seconds (+2.7) to finish behind Britain’s Reece Prescod who clocked 9.94 seconds (+2.7). Ivorian Arthur Cissé (10.03 seconds) finished third.

Yupun considered the fastest man in South Asia, continued his fine form with a mesmerizing run in the first event of the year, but the 28-year-old was seen in a little bit of discomfort in the last part of the race and will undergo a MRI scan to find out the reason.

“I’m really happy with the way I started the season. Everything is going well as we planned, and I hope to do my best in everything in the future as well. As I said at the beginning of the year, our main goal is the Asian Games and The World Championship.

“But yesterday unfortunately I had to face an unavoidable situation during the last part of my final race as I was hitting top speed. My physiotherapist has advised me to do an MRI scan after 3 days (72hrs) in order to find out the reason for the incident. Thank you all for always being supportive” Yupun wrote on his official Facebook page.

Yupun will next features in the men’s 100m event at the Florence leg of the Wanda Diamond League 2023 on 2 June.

He will rub shoulders against some of the top runners, with the likes of reigning World Champion Fred Kerley, Olympic Champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs and Commonwealth Champion Ferdinand Omanyala in the line-up all set to race in Florence.

Yupun became the first Sri Lankan to compete in a Diamond League final when he dazzled the track in 2021 to finish in fifth position.