After winning the men’s javelin title at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, world No. 1 Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage was heading home to Sri Lanka to prepare for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. But just as the 23-year-old star was looking to carry his winning form into his next major competition, his preparations were thrown off track after his javelins were damaged on the flight home.

On September 16, the Sri Lankan star shared photos of his broken javelins on Instagram Stories. He first wrote, “Bad luck,” before sharing the same image again with the words, “Thank you Turkish Airlines.” The javelins had been damaged while being transported after Pathirage flew back from Hungary following his victory in Budapest.

It is still unclear exactly how the damage happened during the journey, but Turkish Airlines is set to investigate the incident. Pathirage also listed the distances he had thrown with the damaged javelins, writing: “85.98, 92.62, 88.50, 89.20, 89.37, 88.20, 89.68, 92.06, 91.06 good bye.”

Speaking to reporters, Pathirage said, “It might be a mistake by the airline, but it caused a priceless loss for me. It’s not a big issue; I’ll move on.” His coach, Tony Prasanna, also spoke about the disappointment. “We checked in five javelins, all packed extremely carefully and well, but all of them arrived broken.” 

However, Sri Lanka’s sports minister Sunil Kumara Gamage later confirmed that five of Pathirage’s javelins had been damaged during transit. He said the Sri Lankan government would cover the cost of replacing the equipment, giving the athlete a chance to get back to his preparations for the Asian Games.

But Prasanna said, “It is not the cost of a javelin, which is quite high, but the emotional attachment. This is a psychological setback for Rumesh, and I will counsel him on it…”

The timing of the damage is particularly frustrating for Pathirage, who just came after the big win in Budapest. Initially, Pathirage made a slow start in the men’s javelin final, opening with 75.89m and sitting fifth in the eight-man field. He improved to 85.69m with his second attempt before moving into the lead with an 87.11m throw in the third round.

With the Ultimate Championship using a four-round format, Pathirage had just one attempt left. He saved his best for last, sending the javelin out to 91.09m with his fourth and final throw. That effort gave him a clear lead of nearly five metres over Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who finished second with 86.18m. Germany’s Julian Weber was third with 85.89m.

The Budapest victory added another major title to Pathirage’s remarkable 2026 season. He had already won Commonwealth Games gold and the Diamond League Final, while also taking Diamond League meeting victories in Rome, Doha, Lausanne and Zurich. His biggest throw of the season came earlier in June at the Golden Gala in Rome, where he set a Sri Lankan national record of 92.62m. He later threw 92.07m in Zurich, meaning his Budapest-winning mark was his third throw beyond 90 metres in 2026.

Now, his attention will turn to the Asian Games, where the men’s javelin competition is scheduled for September 26 in Aichi-Nagoya. With the event approaching, Pathirage will have to get his replacement equipment ready and put the frustrating incident behind him. The Asian Games may be his immediate target, but Pathirage has an even bigger dream ahead, and he still has time to chase it.

Pathirage’s big dream of becoming Olympic Champion

Pathirage’s journey to the top of world javelin has also been an unusual one. The Sri Lankan star was originally a cricket player at school, where he bowled as a pacer. After finishing school, he decided to move away from team sport and try an individual event. That is when he turned to javelin, carrying parts of his cricket technique into his new discipline.

That switch has now taken him to the top of the sport, but Pathirage has an even bigger goal in mind. After his breakthrough season, he made his Olympic ambition clear. “Honestly, I hope to win an Olympic gold medal for Sri Lanka in 2028,” Pathirage told the Olympics official website.

Winning Olympic gold would carry special meaning for Sri Lanka. The country has never won an Olympic gold medal. Its only two Olympic medals are both silvers, with Duncan White winning the men’s 400m hurdles silver at the 1948 London Games and Susanthika Jayasinghe taking silver in the women’s 200m at Sydney 2000.

That makes Pathirage’s 2028 dream about more than his own career. If he were to win gold in Los Angeles, he would become the first Sri Lankan Olympic champion and give the country its first gold medal in Olympic history.