in javelin throw of 61.84m to secure gold medal in the men’s F46 javelin throw event. He also claimed silver medal in men’s 46 category at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships by clearing a distance of 60.59 meters.
He was appointed as the flag bearer and captain of the nine member Sri Lankan contingent for the 2020 Summer Paralympics. He clinched historic gold medal in the men’s javelin throw F46 category with a new world record of 67.79 m. He claimed Sri Lanka’s first ever Paralympic gold medal and also secured Sri Lanka’s first medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. He broke the F46 javelin throw world record which was previously held by India’s Devendra Jhajharia when he claimed the gold medal.[28][29] He also became the first Sri Lankan to win two Paralympic medals as well as the first and only Sri Lankan to have won a gold medal either in Olympics or Paralympics.
Herath served in the Sri Lankan Army Personnel, as a Corporal in the 3rd Gajaba Regiment. He joined the Sri Lankan Army at the age of 18 in 2004. Herath was wounded in Kilinochchi during the final stages of the humanitarian operations on 16 December 2008 and retired from the Army on medical grounds at the age of 22. It was reported that three bullets had pierced his left arm which made him unable to engage in regular activities and was forced to spend his next four years at the Ragama Ranaviru Sevana for his treatment. He later went onto represent the country in sports as he was encouraged to do so by the high-ranking officials of the Gajaba Regiment in 2012. He was also felicitated and rewarded for creating history in the Paralympics event. After winning the Paralympic medal he quoted, having said that it was the Army officers who motivated him to continue the sports after he abandoned it. “I worked hard during the last six months and I saw my family members only four days during the past six months. After the battle injury, it was the Army officers who dragged me for training,”
We wish him the very best for his future.
