Susanthika would be the beacon at the Nuwara Eliya Olympic day run
General Secretary of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) Maxwell De Silva said that the International Olympic Day can be celebrated by the National Olympic Committee of all member nations. As a result the Sri Lanka Olympic Day Run will take place tomorrow (June 25) in Nuwara Eliya.
“There is no question if the Olympic Day is celebrated by any other association. Sri Lanka’s only Olympic medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe will spearhead the celebrations. She is the only Olympic Medalist currently living in Sri Lanka”.
Two persons who have reached the top of the world and another who has also touched heady Olympic heights will headline the Olympic Day celebrations.
Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala and Johann Peiris, the first Sri Lankans to successfully summit Mt. Everest, and sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe, silver medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics will be special guests at the annual Olympic Day Run which will also feature around 1,000 schoolchildren.
Sarath Ekanayake, chief minister of Central Province will be the chief guest at the grand occasion while Gayanthika Abeyratne, Sri Lanka's gold medallist in the 800 metres at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Championship last year, will also be a special guest.
"The presence of all these celebrated athletes will be inspirational for all the young school kids taking part in our annual Olympic Day Run. It is not every day that you get the chance to meet people who have climbed Mt. Everest or won medals at the Olympics and I hope this will motivate our youngsters to follow in their footsteps," observed Suresh Subramaniam, NOC president.
Jayanthi Utumpala was the first Sri Lankan to conquer Mt. Everest, achieving the feat in 2016. Johann Peiris was the second, reaching the peak of the 8,848 metres mountain on May 22, 2018. His first attempt, climbing with Jayanthi in 2016, was unsuccessful because of an oxygen tank failure 400 metres from the summit.
Susanthika Jayasinghe etched her name in the record books when she became the first woman- and second Sri Lankan after Duncan White - to win an Olympic medal. She won a silver medal in the 200 metres in Sydney.
"They are all role models. Gayanthika (Abeyratne) is our most recent success story and their presence will be a huge boost for our annual event. We are happy and proud to showcase these special talents and undoubtedly some young boys and girls in Nuwara Eliya and one day these children will follow in their footsteps, "Subramaniam said.
Move, Learn and Discover are the three pillars of Olympic Day throughout the world and the NOC will strongly stick to this theme in Nuwara Eliya. Move will take in the Olympic Day Run; Learn revolving around sports programmes for teachers in the District; and Discover encompassing the emergence of Sports.
The Olympic Day Run will commence outside President's House at 10am and end at the Cinecitta Grounds. The total distance of the run will be 1.5 kilometres. After the run there will be a flag raising ceremony and the lighting of the traditional oil lamp followed by a one-minute silence in remembrance of fallen heroes.
Art competitions featuring more than 100 school children will also be staged while there will be video presentations of new sports mountain climbing and Sports before the Olympic Day Run gets underway. The NOC will also donate books to the 50 participating schools from the Nuwara Eliya District.
A day-long teachers' training programme focusing on football and volleyball will be held the day before the Olympic Day Run. Around 100 teachers are expected to take part.