Team Sri Lanka is ready for London!
The 2012 Sri Lanka Olympic Team is official, with exactly one month to go until the Games of the XXX Olympiad. The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka celebrated the one-month mark by hosting the annual Olympic Day Run. This year, the event was sponsred by Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, and was a fantastic success. The event was graced with the presence of former Olympians Sriyani Kulawansa, Damayanthi Darsha, and Sugath Thilakaratne, as well as upand-coming Olympians Heshan Unamboowe, Reshika Udugampola, and Mangala Samarakoon. It was wonderful to see these elite athletes come out and show their support for the spreading of the Olympic movement.
Guests included Mr. Lal Ranjith, Chief Corporate Officer of Sri Lanka Telecom, and Mr. Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana, Chairman of Eravur Urban Council. Mr. Moulana was officially handed over the Olympic Flag in announcement that the Olympic Day Run 2013 will be held in the town of Eravur, in the Batticaloa District of the Eastern Province.
Dilan Perera, Acting Minister of Sports, attended the event, and Robbie Bulloch, Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission in Colombo, was also on site. He spoke encouragingly to all the school children. “The British have a saying that some of you will know, ‘it’s not the winning, it’s the taking part that counts’. Of course winning is really nice, but I think the principle of participation is really the most important thing.”
In London, we will see participation by five Sri Lankan athletes, many of whom have benefitted from a multitude of opportunities given by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka. Their hard work, long training hours, and sacrifice will culminate in the world’s foremost sporting event taking
London 2012 will feature 36 different sports, of which 4 will include athletes from Sri Lanka. Those sports are: Athletics, Badminton, Shooting, and Swimming.
place from 27th July to 12th August 2012. Deva Henry, Vice President of the National Olympic Committee, will be the Chef de Mission of the 2012 Sri Lankan team.
The Games will start with what is planned to be a spectacular opening ceremony, under the direction of Artistic Director Danny Boyle. The name of the show will be ‘Isles of Wonder’ and will kick off with the sound of the largest harmonically tuned bell in Europe. The Stadium will be transformed into the British countryside and also include a special sequence celebrating the best of the British.
A unique aspect of the London Games is International Inspiration, an international sports legacy programme. The programme has enriched the lives of 12 million children and young people in 20 countries around the world through high-quality and inclusive physical education, sport, and play. International Inspiration embodies the promise made at the bid in 2005 to reach young people all around the world and connect them to the inspirational power of the Games so they are inspired to choose sport. This changes lives and opens doors to self-empowerment, something the National Olympic Committee also continues to strive for today.
London 2012 will feature 36 different sports, of which 4 will include athletes from Sri Lanka. Those sports are: Athletics, Badminton, Shooting, and Swimming.
Athletics:
Anuradha Indrajith Cooray, Men’s Marathon
Anuradha will be competing in Marathon, one of three road events in the Athletics competition (the other events include the 20km Race Walk and the 50km Race Walk). The marathon distance is 26.2 miles, or 42.4 km, and is a grueling race throughout the streets of London, ending near Buckingham Palace in central London. The event will take place on 12th August. This will be Anuradha’s 2nd Olympic performance, as he previously competed at the 2004 Games in the marathon event as well, placing 30th. He is one of two athletes on this year’s Sri Lankan team who has achieved qualification standards for 2012 (B-Standard Qualification Time).
Badminton:
Niluka Karunaratne, Men’s Singles Niluka will compete in the Men’s Singles as one of the 38 athletes in this event. The men’s singles event will take place at Wembley Arena, starting on 1st August 2012 in its preliminary stage: rounds of 16. In addition to Anuradha Cooray, Niluka is the only other Sri Lankan athlete to have achieved qualifying standards for London 2012. With his world ranking of 47th place, he landed a prized position at the Games.
Shooting:
Mangala Samarakoon, Men’s 50m Rifle Prone
Mangala will represent Sri Lanka in the 50m Rifle Prone event, which means he will aim at a 10-ring target from 50m, while in a lying down position. This event will take place on 3rd August, 2012. The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka was awarded the allocated quota place by the Inter- national Shooting Sport Federation. As a top shooter in this country, Samarakoon secured the Olympic berth.
Swimming:
Heshan Unamboowe, Men’s 100m Backstroke
Reshika Udugampola, Women’s 100m Freestyle
Heshan is the recipient of an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship, awarded by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, allowing him the chance to train at the Nunawading Swimming Club in Melbourne, Australia. He was also selected as the male athlete from Sri Lanka for the Asian Swimming Talent Identification Project organized by the Olympic Council of Asia, providing further training opportunities in Bangkok. Reshika has also been provided with the rare opportunity to train abroad, and she has been spending time in Melbourne as well, working hard leading up to the Games. Both Heshan and Reshika performed well at the 14th FINA World Championships, achieving Olympic Selection BTime. This led to an invite by FINA for both of them to compete at the Games on universality places.
Preparations for the London Games are well on track and it looks like this Olympiad is going to be one to remember. With a fantastic festival line up, innovative sport presentations, and wonderful venues in place, the whole world is looking forward to tuning in to watch the spectacle unfold.
The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka would like to offer official congratulations to the Sri Lanka Olympic Team on their achievements. We wish each and every athlete the best of luck heading into this fantastic, world-class sporting event!