Story of the Olympian
Jayamini Illeperuma, a Sri Lankan track and field athlete, specialized in the 400 meters event. She made her Olympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games, where she showcased her talent by advancing to the second round in the women’s 400m. In that round, she clocked her personal best time of 53.55 seconds, which was also the best performance by an Asian athlete at the event.
Illeperuma’s career highlights include her remarkable performance at the 5th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games held in Colombo, where she won four medals. These included a gold medal in the 400m, a silver in the 200m, and relay medals in both the 4x100m and 4x400m events. Her time of 53.73 seconds in the 400m set a new national record for Sri Lanka at the time.
She continued to represent Sri Lanka in various international meets, securing impressive finishes in regional competitions, such as the Asian Invitation Athletics Meet and the South Asian Games. Her athletic achievements have made her one of Sri Lanka’s notable female sprinters of the era.
