Sri Lanka’s world number one javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga has become the first Sri Lankan athlete nominated for the Men’s World Athlete of the Year award.
Tharanga is one of 10 men on the 2026 shortlist, announced by World Athletics ahead of the World Athletics Awards in Monaco on 29 November, 2026. An international panel of athletics experts selected 20 nominees in all, 10 men and 10 women.
The nomination follows a season in which Tharanga won the World Ultimate Championship and the Diamond League title, and took gold at both the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. It places the country’s leading javelin thrower among the world’s top track and field athletes.
The winners will be decided by a four-way vote, with each group accounting for 25% of the result. The groups are World Athletics fans, athletes who competed at World Athletics Series events in 2026, accredited media and the wider World Athletics Family.
Six finalists, three men and three women, will be named on 10 and 11 November. They will then be invited to Monaco, where the winners will be announced on stage at the awards ceremony.