Sri Lanka’s star athlete and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Silver Medallist, Susanthika Jayasinghe, has decided to settle in Melbourne, Australia, with her two children.
She left Sri Lanka about two months ago and has shared with friends that she is uncertain about returning to the country. Her migration to Australia is aimed at prioritizing the education and future of her children.
Susanthika’s contemporary athlete, Asian medallist and Olympian Damayanthi Darsha, also moved to Australia with her family a few years ago.
The 49-year-old Susanthika Jayasinghe is a retired Sri Lankan sprinter specializing in the 100 and 200 meters. She won the silver medal in the 200m event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, becoming 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.
She remains the only Asian athlete to have claimed an Olympic medal in sprint events and is also the first and only Sri Lankan to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.
Her silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics stood as the sole Olympic medal for a South Asian in an athletics event for 21 years, until Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal achievement at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Fondly nicknamed the “Asian Black Mare,” she is celebrated for her contributions to athletics.
Susanthika represented Sri Lanka at the Olympics on three occasions-in 1996, 2000, and 2008. Widely regarded as one of Sri Lanka’s most decorated sprinters, she is also considered a controversial figure in the country.
