Susanthika due in Osaka today

Arrives from USA after training:

Sri Lanka sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe is due to arrive in Osaka today to appear in what look likes to be her farewell World Championship in Athletics.

The 11th IAAF World Championship starts in the Japanese city of Osaka on Saturday with the cream of champion athletics in action.

Jayasinghe, Lanka's only medal hope at the week long championship. Former Sri Lanka national high jump champion Nagalingam Ethiriveerasingham said Jayasinghe left Los Angeles on Monday morning and is due to reach Osaka this evening.

On her arrival in Osaka, Jayasinghe will be joined by her husband cum local coach Dhammika Nandakumara and Manager Sunil Jayaweera.

Ethiriveerasingham, who won the first ever Asian Games gold medal for Sri Lanka, played a big role in hosting the 32-year-old woman sprinter and looking after her training schedules. Jayasinghe has been training under a reputed American coach after her sprint double at the recent Asian Championships in Jordan.

Reports from Los Angeles said Jayasinghe has completed several impressive work outs and that she has been in good shape. Her morale has been high after the back to back gold medals in Jordan and is gearing to secure yet another medal at the World championship.

Jayasinghe will be competing in both the women's 100m and 200m. But she mainly pins her medal hopes in her pet event of women's 200m which has brought her fortune at Olympic and World Championship level. The Sydney 2000m Olympic medalist has clocked a season's best 22.99 seconds but she has not come anywhere closer to her career best timing of 22.28 registered in Australia seven years ago.

Of the 55 woman sprinters in the provisional list for women's 200m at the Osaka World Championship, American Allyson Felix has accounted for the best seasonal timing of 22.18 seconds. It was only last year that the 21-year-old American lass accounted for her career best timing of 22.11 seconds.

Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (Bahamas - 22.49) Kim Gevaert (Belgium - 22.20), Muriel Hurtis (22.38), Veronica Campbell (Jamaica - 22.39), Sanya Richards (USA - 22.43) too have registered impressive timings this season. The first round heats of women's 200m event are scheduled to be worked off on August 29 at 10.40 a.m. local time (7.10 a.m. SL time).

Meanwhile, the final gathering of the IAAF Council under its present composition of members whose mandate comes to its conclusion when new elections are held at the 46th IAAF Congress on Wednesday took place at the New Otani Hotel yesterday.

Reports said IAAF President Lamine Diack, in his opening address, paid glowing tribute to three Council Members who have decided to retire. They are Senior Vice-President Arne Ljungqvist (Sweden), Vice-President Dapeng Lou (China), and Taizo Watanabe (Japan). But the trio have announced their intention to continue supporting the IAAF and the cause of Athletics.

The IAAF's submission regarding version 2.0 of the world anti doping body - WADA, Code has been sent to the WADA Code Project Review Team. Following a second meeting with the Review Team and the IAAF took place in Monaco, the IAAF Council called upon the Congress to re-affirm its call for four-year sanctions for serious first time violations.

Senior Vice-President Ljungqvist reminded Council that Congress should be asked to give a mandate to IAAF Council to accept the revised Code as a basis for the fight against doping and to amend IAAF Rules, where appropriate, to bring them into compliance with the Code.

The Council of the World track and field body also approved the Advertising Regulations. Of particular note: It has been agreed that from 2009 the National Federations will be allowed one and only one sponsor on the competition vests / leotards of athletes at all World Athletic Series competitions, with the exception of the World Championships in Athletics.

At the IAAF World Championships, national sponsors will be allowed visibility on the athletes' track suits, except on the victory podiums during awards ceremonies. In all cases such sponsors cannot be competitive with any of the IAAF Partners or Competition Sponsors and permission must be sought from the IAAF. The dimension and placement are to be determined.

Maj Gen. Palitha Fernando and Prema Pinnawale, the President and Secretary of the AASL, will represent Sri Lanka at the 46th IAAF Congress due to be held in Osaka tomorrow.