By Pirate Irwin

SUSANTHIKA Jayasinghe has always been a drawcard, whether for her medal winning exploits or colourful private life, and the Sri Lankan is looking for a glorious finale by medalling in the Beijing Olympics.

Jayasinghe, who will turn 31 on Sunday, has been one of the star attractions here with hundreds of expatriate Sri Lankans turning up to support their "Dazzling Gazelle", as she is known.

However, the former world and Olympic 200m medallist was unable to deliver gold, taking silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m.

As ever Jayasinghe, who has twice fought successfully to clear her name against positive dope tests, had an explanation for her failure to win the title.

"Normally I can run under 23 seconds (in the 200m) but a year ago I had a leg fracture and five weeks ago I suffered from chickungunya (a viral illness)," said Jayasinghe.

Jayasinghe’s story has the elements of a fairytale since she was discovered by an army officer when she ran the last leg in a school 4x100m relay race.

"If I hadn’t had the luck to be watched by him that day I would probably have ended up working as cheap labour in a clothing factory," admitted Jayasinghe, whose poverty stricken family could not afford to buy her a pair of spikes.

"Instead I walked off the track and this man approached me and asked me to join the army with a view to competing in athletics.

"I owe him a huge favour," added Jayasinghe, who earned a meagre wage while a child along with her four siblings labelling packets of bidees (cheap Asian cigarettes) as her father was unemployed and her mother earned a pittance.

This huge favour was duly rewarded when Jayasinghe took silver in the world 200m final to become the first Sri Lankan to win a medal at a global track and field event in 49 years.

This earned her a two year stay in the United States under the tutelage of star coach Tony Campbell, though she had to pay her own way and had to sell the medal she won in Athens.

Just prior to that she had her first run in of many with the Sri Lankan authorities as she claimed that she had been sexually harassed by a senior official in the Sports Ministry, which resulted in a fierce backlash.

With the gates to the sports facilities closed off to her she and her husband fearing for their lives, they fled to the US and two years later she was lauded once again for taking bronze at the Sydney Olympics.

"That was a glorious moment for me and I was so proud to deliver something tangible at the greatest sporting event in the world to the Sri Lankan people," she said.

Since then, despite an Asian Games gold in 2002, she has been a rarer sight on the circuit and has had to battle against persistent injuries, but she is determined to end her career with a typical fairytale ending.

"I want to bow out of this sport with another Olympic medal ... that would be the ending of all endings," she said. (AFP)