Jayasinghe sets sights on Jones

Sri Lanka8217;s Susanthika Jayasinghe stormed to Asian Games gold in the women8217;s 100 metres on Tuesday and then warned Olympic champio...

Sri Lanka8217;s Susanthika Jayasinghe stormed to Asian Games gold in the women8217;s 100 metres on Tuesday and then warned Olympic champion Marion Jones that she had her sights set on adding the world title next summer.

The 26-year-old, who won in an Asian Games record of 11.15 seconds, insisted that she would be not be in Paris just to make up the numbers.

8220;My dream is to win world or Olympic gold, so who knows if it will be Marion Jones? I don8217;t know whose time it will be at the world championships,8221; said Jayasinghe, who has won bronze and silver but never gold at Olympic or world level.

8220;But I can tell you that I want the gold medal. I don8217;t care about the other medals.8221;

Jayasinghe, who won the 100 and 200 metres sprint double at the Asian Championships in Colombo in August, claimed that only better training facilities gave Jones the edge over the Asian number one. 8220;Marion Jones has good facilities, good doctors, good food. I am just a poor country girl from a small village. If I had the same facilities I could run really fast,8221; she said. Jayasinghe, now coached by American Tony Campbell, promised that she would add the 200 metres title on Thursday to exorcise the ghosts of the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok when she pulled out with a hamstring injury.

8220;I thought I would win two golds at the last Asian Games but I had some problems. The bad times are past now, though, and I8217;m going to get another gold in the 200, definitely,8221; she said.

Jayasinghe, who finished fourth in the 100 at the Commonwealth Games but was disqualified for running outside her lane in the 200, was only third quickest out of the blocks on Tuesday and was struggling over the first half of the race.

Story continues below this ad

But she powered her way back over the second 50 to edge out Lyubov Perepelova of Uzbekistan 11.38 and China8217;s Qin Wangping 11.51 in blustery conditions at Pusan Asiad Main Stadium.

8220;I got off to a bad start. After 30 metres everybody had gone and I needed to do something quick,8221; she said. 8220;Overall I am happy with the time. This gold medal is not only for me. It is the first for Sri Lanka at these Asian Games.8221;

Jayasinghe was suspended after a random doping test in April 1998. She was cleared by her national federation after claiming she had been the victim of a conspiracy. Reuters