Causing a major turnaround on the final day Mahamaya Girls School progressed on to win the women’s title in the Senior Long Course Swimming National Championship while Killer Whale Aquatics retained their silverware for the third consecutive year.
The Sri Lanka Junior and Senior National Long Course Swimming Championship which kicked off on the 3rd of May 2017 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Swimming Pool Complex concluded on a high note on the 6th with a total of over 9 records renewed and with a surge by Mahamaya who pushed their limits to win the title in the last few hours of the championship.
The swimming giants from the hill country, Mahamaya Girls School finished with a total of 286.5 points overtaking Visakha Vidyalaya who had to be contempt with the runner-up spot amassing 279 points. Last year’s championship winning team Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya took the third place accumulating only 149 points.
Winning the championship for the third successive occasion, Killer Whale Aquatics (KWA) Club had the lead in the leaderboard from the very first day. Dominating the events with silverware, the KWA swimmers were uncontested during the relay events as they finished with 244 points; 49 points ahead of the second finishing team. In second was St. Joseph’s College getting themselves 195 points in total.
Coming up the ranks in the swimming structure, Ananda College has shown promise to take the #3 position getting 169 points.
Kyle Abeysinghe & Ramudi Samarakoon; Best in the competition
Marking a second successive year for the 17-year-old, Kyle Abeysinghe was once again adjudged as the best swimmer in the senior men’s category while 15-year-old Ramudi Samarakoon made history to get the best swimmer in the senior women’s category.
Kyle Abeysinghe won three gold and two silver medals to take the best swimmer honours. His gold medals came in the 100m Breaststroke, 50m Freestyle and in the 200m Individual Medley. He took the second place in the 100m Freestyle and in the 400m Freestyle.
In second and third places in the best swimmer, men’s division in the senior championship was Akalanka Peiris of St. Peter’s and Dilanka Shehan of Nalanda College. Peiris missed out on the best swimmer title by just a single point.
Akalanka’s won gold in the 50m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly, 100m Backstroke while he took silver in the 50m Freestyle. He won his single bronze medal in the 100m Freestyle.
Meanwhile, the 15-year old Ramudi Samarakoon was the highlight in the women’s division swimming her first senior nationals was the best swimmer winning gold in all the events she swam.
Samarakoon won gold in the 50m Breaststroke, 200m Individual Medley, Breaststroke, 800m Freestyle and in the 100m Breaststroke. The young swimmer from Visakha Vidyalaya showcased formidable talent in the concluded championship giving indications of a fruitful career ahead.
Lyceum Wattala and Royal College clinch Junior National titles
Marking a first of its kind, Lyceum International School Wattala got their first Junior Nationals title winning the girl’s division. Lyceum were the frontrunners in the segment from day 1 and they were able to maintain their stint to win the title.
They collected a total of 205 points while second place Visakha got only 177. Royal College took the boy’s division title but trailing behind was Lyceum Wattala who had to be contempt with second place. St. Joseph’s College took third place.
In conclusion, the four days of exciting swimming action in this senior and junior national championship was a success story in terms of the sport where competitive swimming was witnessed and was a platform where new champions and winners were born.
Standings Senior – Womens
- Mahamaya College Kandy – 286.5
- Visakha Vidyalaya – 279
- Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya – 149
- Musaeus College – 118.5
- Lyceum International Nugegoda – 37
Standings Senior – Mens
- Killer Whale Aquatics – 244
- St. Joseph’s College – 195
- Ananda College – 169
- Sri Lanka Navy -140
- Royal College -81.50
Standings Junior – Girls
- Lyceum International Wattala -205
- Visakha Vidyalaya -177
- Gateway College Kandy -93
- St. Bridget’s Convent -90
- Musaeus College -87
Standings Junior – Boys
- Royal College -130
- Lyceum International Wattala -113
- St. Joseph’s College -111
- D. S. Senanayake College -100
- Dharmaraja College -92
