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Nimali first SL 800m athlete to compete at Olympics in 29 years-by Dinesh Weerawansa Sri Lanka’s Nimali Liyanaraachchi having a light workout at a nearby Tokyo venue Source:Dailynews TOKYO, July 28. – Middle distance runner Nimali Liyanaraachchi will become the first Sri Lankan 800m athlete to compete at the Olympic Games in 29 years when she competes at Tokyo 2020 Games on Friday (30). Prior to Liyanaraachchi’s feat, the last Sri Lankan to compete in women’s 800m event at Olympics was way back in 1992 when Sriyani Dhammika Menike ran in Barcelona, Spain. Yours truly was there in Barcelona almost three decades ago to report on Dhammika Menike and other Sri Lankans, which include marathon runner the late K. A. Karunaratne, champion swimmer Julian Bolling, Beijing 1990 Asian Games double medallist Sriyantha Dissanayake and former South Asian Games gold medallist Jayamini Illeperuma, in action. Dhammika Menike, who represented Sri Lanka ...