Pathirage and Cunningham break meeting records in Rome

Key points

• Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage produced the best javelin throw of his career to smash the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meeting record with a world-leading 92.62m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rome on Thursday (4).
• The Sri Lankan opened with 84.49m – a mark that would have been good enough to win – before launching his second-round effort way beyond 90 metres.
• His 92.62m added more than two metres to the meeting record of 90.34m set by Andreas Thorkildsen 20 years ago, moved Pathirage to eighth on the world all-time list and made him the second-best Asian thrower in history.
• It was also the best throw in the world since the 2024 Olympic final, and secured him a clear victory over two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who was second with 83.91m, and world bronze medallist Curtis Thompson, who was third with 83.89m.
• “I tried my best today to set a...