The first Selection trial and the very first national level swimming event for the year 2022 kicked off this weekend, with the best swimmers in the island aiming to start the year strong.
The year 2022 is a big one for the swimming fraternity; Apart from the big 2 competitions, the Asian and Commonwealth Games set to happen in July, August and September there are also some important events lined up in the Global and Asian calendars.
The Malaysian Open Swimming Championships (April) which will also be a qualifying event for the World Championships (May) will start off the international list of events. The FINA World Junior Swimming Championship, Asian Youth Games and the FINA World Championships (25m) are also on the cards for 2022.
With much to look forward to, the Sri Lankan swimmers would want to get a leg up at the start of the year which will set the tone for the rest of 2022. Let’s find out how they fared in the first selection trial.
- Akalanka Peiris into the World’s Top 50 swimmers list
- Aniqah Gaffoor’s Olympic Games end in disappointment
Akalanka Peiris returning from his recent fame from entering the World’s top 50 lists in the Men’s 50m and 100m Backstroke, managing to continue his streak with three first place finishes over this weekend.
In the 50m Backstroke, he clocked 26.38sec for a comfortable win while in the 100m Backstroke Peiris clocked in a 58.76sec, taking another Gold. He also won the 100m Freestyle in 51.69sec to close out a successful weekend.
Peiris seems to be closing in on getting to better Personal Best timings, and one can only hope he achieves this and more this year.
Fellow national swimmers, Ramudi Samarakoon and Sandev Senaratne also fared well, with the latter grabbing three 1st place finishes in the 50m Butterfly (25.40sec), 100m Butterfly (56.42sec) and 200m Butterfly event (2:13.18min).
Ramudi Samarakoon also managed two top finishes in the 50m Breaststroke (35.61sec) and the 100m Breaststroke (1:19.66min) and a third-place finish in the 200m Freestyle event. Ganga Seneviratne of Killer Whale Aquatics won the Women’s Open 50m Backstroke in 32.05sec and the 100m Back in 1:07.71min.
She also excelled in the 100m Freestyle, winning the event in 1:01.49min. Finishing out a perfect weekend she won the Women 200m Backstroke with a time of 2:28.47min.
Click here for all results from the Trials
Next up in the swimming calendar, we will witness the Age Group Open Time Trial from the 10th to the 12th of February.
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