Oarsman Jayakody finishes sixth at Tokyo Paralympics

On Aug 29, 2021

Sri Lanka’s Mahesh Jayakody had to be content with the sixth place in the rowing PRI Men’s Singles Sculls event of the 16th Paralympics at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo, Japan yesterday.

Jayakody, who created history as the first oarsman to represent Sri Lanka in Paralympics, ended his final ‘B’ event with a time of 13 minutes and 12.33s.

Jayakody qualified to compete in the Repechage phase of this event after he finished the first round heat with a time of 11.21.31s.

Aleksey Chuvashev of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) finished first with a time of 10.29.99s while Marcus Klemp of Germany finished second with a time of 10.32.27s.

Meanwhile, Chef-de-Mission of the Sri Lanka Team Major General Rajitha Ampemohotti said: “Being the first rower to the Paralympics, Jayakody’s performance in this event cannot be underestimated.”

“He had to compete with high-ranking and world renowned rowers at this event, which was always a good exposure as he was the only Asian at this event,” he added.