Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Diamond League Finals despite skipping Zurich; Rumesh Pathirage wins with 92.07m throw

Sri Lankan athlete Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage maintained his brilliant form by winning the javelin throw event at the 2026 Zurich Diamond League in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday.

Pathirage produced an effort of 92.07m in his sixth attempt. Grenada's Anderson Peters finished in second place with a throw of 86.93m, whereas Poland's Dawid Wegner secured third place with a best throw of 851.16m.

Pathirage has enjoyed a breakout year in 2026, highlighted by his gold medal victory at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The Sri Lankan athlete finished ahead of Neeraj Chopra at the Commonwealth Games after the former gold medalist secured a season-best throw of 85.83m.

Neeraj opted to skip the Zurich Diamond League to manage his health and workload following a difficult start to the season. He has, however, already qualified for the 2026 Diamond League Finals in Brussels, which will take place on 4 and 5 September.

After unleashing a national-record throw of 92.62m in Rome in June, Rumesh Tharanga continued his impressive run by winning in Ostrava and at the Doha Diamond League. He then made history in Glasgow, becoming Sri Lanka’s first Commonwealth Games javelin champion with a throw of 89.75m.

Pathirage continues impressive run

The 23-year-old followed that up by winning the Lausanne Diamond League last week, edging India’s Neeraj by just nine centimetres with an 88.14m effort. He then breached the 92m mark once again in Zurich.

Pathirage has now become only the fourth javelin thrower in history to surpass the 92m mark twice, joining an elite group featuring Jan Zelezny, Johannes Vetter and Aki Parviainen.

Neeraj Chopra has managed to surpass the 90m mark just once so far, at the Doha Diamond League in May 2025 when he registered a best throw of 90.23m.

Pathirage said that he had sustained a headache ahead of the competition. Despite the issue, he was pleased with his performance and credited the crowd for their support.

“This season has been fantastic and today, I am very proud of my result. I enjoyed the crowd so much and I have to say thank you for cheering and clapping for us. I was trying for the PB but missed it this time. Technically, everything felt good but I had a little bit of a headache before the competition, so it affected me a bit. Now, Brussels and some more competitions, I keep myself busy," the youngster told reporters in Zurich after the competition.