Mahamaya swimmers make a clean sweep

S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports Correspondent

SWIMMING: Swimmers from Mahamaya Girls College swept the board to lift the championship for women while Sri Lanka Army in a last spurt became champions among the Men at the Annual Short Course Swimming Championship 2006 organised by Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) and held at the Hillwood College Swimming Pool in Kandy.

Mahamaya swimmers accumulated 314 points with a clear lead of 262 points over the second placed Hillwood College who gathered 52 points and in third place was Girls High School, Kandy, with 39 points.

Madhavee Weeratunga of Mahamaya who was adjudged the Best swimmer of the meet among the women out up a superlative along with her elder sister Hansani put her team in an unassailable position.

Twelve year old Madhavee came for this meet after having set up a new meet record in the Girls Under 13, 50 metres free style the previous day at the 33rd Sri Lanka Schools Swimming and Diving Championship held in Colombo. At the Kandy meet she won the 200 metres Individual Medley, 100 metres free style, 50 metres free style and also secured second places in the 200 metres back stroke, 200 metres butterfly, and 100 metres breast stroke.

Hansani Weeratunga too put up a fine display to win the 200 metres free style, 100 metres butterfly and was also placed in another event. This plucky performance by the Weeratunga swimming sisters single handedly put the Mahamayans on top.

Others to excel were Udari Mendis (Mahamaya) two wins, Sunethra Wijeratne (Mahamaya) 2 wins, Chamari Kudabalage (Hillwood College) three wins, Imesha Malalasekera (Mahamaya) and Chathuri Weragama (Girls High School)

The championship for men saw a titanic struggle between the Sri Lanka Army and the Sri Lanka Police with both going neck to neck in search of honours and it was in the final event of the day that the soldiers were able to edge out the cops by getting the first two places in the medley relay.

Shining for the soldiers was K. V. C. Priyadharshana with three wins. He first won the 100 metres breast stroke and followed up with wins in the 50 metres breast stroke and 50 metres free style to put this team on top.

But the Best Swimmer's award among the men went to Kushan de Silva of the Rainbow Aquatic Club who outpaced the others in the 50 metres butterfly stroke and also won the 100 metres Individual medley and also 100 metres butterfly stroke and rounded off by winning 100 metres free style which was his fourth win in the meet. He was also placed second in the 200 metres Individual Medley.

Juan P. Valdivieso from the Rainbow Aquatic Club sparkled by winning two long distance events in 200 metres Individual Medley and 200 metres butterfly stroke quite comfortably. Govinda Tidball also from the Rainbow Aquatic Club put up a good display to win two events namely the 100 metres back stroke and 50 metres breast stroke.

The Rainbow Aquatic Club though having seven winners in a contest of 16 events including the relays failed to secure a place among the top two which was mainly due to the Army and Police fielding a larger contingent in the events. In other works they produced quality and not quantity.

Samantha Wickramasinghe, President of the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) was the Chief Guest and he distributed the main awards and the other awards were distributed by guests of honour Mahinda Liyanage, M. Padmasiri Punchihewa, Ameen Fareed, P. S. P. Dayananda and Rodney Silva.

This was the second time this meet was conducted in the hill capital since the opening of the swimming pool at Hillwood College a few years back. SLASU should be complimented for taking this competition to the outstations and with the opening of the larger swimming pool at the University of Peradeniya about six years ago, more swimming championship should be held in the hill capital considering the fact Trinity College and Mahamaya Girls College, Kandy, have proved in no uncertain terms that they are the two top teams in the swimming circuit at present.

WOMEN

50 Metres Butterfly Stroke: 1. Udari Mendis (Mahamaya Girls College), 34.57 sect. 2. Udeshi Ekanayake (Mahamaya GC) 35.43 secs., 3. Hansani Weeratunga (Mahamaya GC) 36.12 secs.

50 Metres Breast Stroke: 1. Udari Mendis (Mahamaya) 41.94 secs., 2. Chathuri Weragama (Girls High School) 42.03 secs., 3. Ridma Withanage (Mahamaya) 42.14 secs.

100 Metres Back Stroke: 1. Chamari Kudabalage (Hillwood College) 1.17.29 mts, 2. Heshani Unamboowe (Mahamaya) 1.23.52 mts, 3. Chathuri Weragama (Girls High School) 1.27.92 mts.

200 Metre Free Style - Open: 1. Hansani Weeratunga (Mahamaya) 2.32.53 mts., 2. Udeshi Ekanayake (Mahamaya) 2.37.66 mts., 3. Heshani Unamboowe (Mahamaya) 2.37.94 mts.

100 Metres Individual Medley - 1. Chamari Kudabalage (Hillwood) 1.20.79 mts., 2. Udari Mendis (Mahamaya) 1.21.00 mts., 3. Chathuri Weragama (Girls High School) 1.21.77 mts.

100 Metres Butterfly Stroke: 1. Hansani Weeratunga (Mahamaya) 1.26.67 mts, 2. Chamari Kudabalage (Hillwood) 1.33.08 mts.

200 Metres Breast Stroke: 1. Chathuri Weragama (Girls High School) 3.11.19 mts, 2. Udeshi Ekanayake (Mahamaya) 3.17.04 mts, 3. Ridma Chalani Withanage (Mahamaya) 3.28.20 mts.

50 Metres Back Stroke: 1. Chamari Kudabalage (Hillwood) 36.70 secs., 2. Heshani Unamboowe (Mahamaya), 39.52 secs., 3. Dinali Sun (Mahamaya) 43.03 secs.

4 X 50 Metres Free Style Relay: 1. Mahamaya Girls College 2.24.19 mts.

200 Metres Individual Medley: Madhavee Weeratunga (Mahamaya) 2.52.46 mts, 2. Sunethra Wijeratne (Mahamaya) 2.55.87 mts., 3. Imesha Malalasekera (Mahamaya) 2.56.36 mts.

100 Metres Breast Stroke: 1. Imesha Malalasekera (Mahamaya) 1.29.91 mts., 2. Madhavee Weeratunga (Mahamaya) 1.35.22 mts., 3. Anusha Sabanayagam (Colombo International School, Kandy) 1.36.38 mts.

100 metres Free Style: 1. Madhavee Weeratunga (Mahamaya) 1.10.01 mts., 2. Sunethra Wijeratne (Mahamaya) 1.12.46 mts., 3. Thilini B. Abeykoon (Mahamaya) 1.17.13 mts.

200 Metres Butterfly Stroke: 1. Sunethra Wijeratne (Mahamaya) 2.58.18 mts., 2. Madhavee Weeratunga (Mahamaya) 3.13.58 mts., 3. Imesha Malalasekera (Mahamaya) 3.22.80 mts.

200 Metres Back Stroke: 1. Sunethra Wijeratne (Mahamaya) 2.52.82 mts., 2. Madhavee Weeratunga (Mahamaya) 3.07.72 mts., 3. Dilki Perera (Girls High School) 3.21.01 mts.

50 Metres Free Style: 1. Madhavee Weeratunga (Mahamaya) 31.25 secs., 2. Sunethra Wijeratne (Mahamaya) 32.60 secs., 3. ANusha Sabanayagam (CISK) 33.38 mts.

4 X 50 Metres Medley Relay: 1. Mahamaya College 'B' 2.50.92 mts., 2. Hillwood College 3.12.34 mts.

MEN

50 Metres Butterfly stroke: 1. Kushan de Silva (Rainbow Aquatic Club) 28.34 secs., 2. R. K. Priyantha (Army) 30.24 secs., 3. Tissa Pathirana (Air Force) 30.52 secs.

50 Metres Breast Stroke: 1. Govinda Tidball (Rainbow AC) 33.66 secs., 2. E. G. C. S. Kumara (Army) 34.81 secs., 3. Ben Thompson (Colombo Swimming Club) 36.08 secs.

100 Metres Breast Stroke: 1. K. V. C. Priyadharshana (Army) 1.14.68 mts., 2. K. B. T. Ratnayake (Police) 1.21.62 mts., 3. M. P. Kularatne (SriLankan Airlines) 1.34.62 mts.

200 Metres Free Style: 1. A. N. Dissanayake (Navy) 2.18.93 mts., 2. Ben Thompson (Colombo Swimming Club) 2.25.64 mts., 3. K. G. S. Bandaranayake (Army) 2.26.32 mts.

100 Metres Individual Medley: 1. Kushan de Silva (Rainbow AC) 1.10.06 mts., 2. A. N. Dissanayake (Navy) 1.12.20 mts., 3. Adnan Abdulhussein (Colombo SC) 1.15.45 mts.

100 Metres Butterfly Stroke: 1. Kushan de Silva (Rainbow AC) 1.08.58 mts., 2. T. M. Fasmeen (Police) 1.17.87 mts., 3. G. Pradeep Chaminda (Police) 1.24.34 mts.

200 Metres Breast Stroke: 1. Ben Thompson (Colombo SC) 2.52.12 mts., 2. A. N. Dissanayake (Navy) 2.52.92 mts., 3. E. G. C. S. Kumara (Army) 3.02.48 mts.

50 Metres Back Stroke: 1. K. V. C. Priyadharshana (Army) 33.21 secs, 2. D. M. Gunasena (Army) 35.53 secs., 3. P. K. D. N. Chaminda (Police) 38.21 secs.

4 X 50 Metres Free Style Relay: 1. Sri Lanka Army 1.53.05 mts., 2. Sri Lanka Police 'A' 2.01.18 mts., 3. Sri Lanka Police 'B' 2.05.55 mts.

200 Metres Individual Medley: 1. Juan P. Valdiviese (Rainbow AC) 2.15.60 mts., 2. Kushan de Silva (Rainbow AC) 2.35.09 mts., 3. A. N. Dissanayake (Navy) 2.40.08 mts.

100 Metres Breast Stroke: 1. Govinda Tidball (Rainbow AC) 1.12.89 mts., 2. E. G. C. S. Kumara (Army) 1.19.55 mts., 3. Ben Thompson (Colombo SC) 1.20.15 mts.

100 Metres Free Style: 1. Kushan de Silva (Rainbow AC) 1.00.36 mts., 2. M. G. Dissanayake (Army) 1.02.48 mts., 3. A. N. Dissanayake (Army) 1.02.48 mts., 3. A. N. Dissanayake (Colombo SC) 1.05.64 mts.

200 Metres Butterfly Stroke: 1. Juan P. Valdiviese (Rainbow AC) 2.86.86 mts., 2. L. R. K. Peiris (Army) 3.10.83 mts.

200 Metres Back Stroke: K. V. V. G. Priyadharshana (Army) 2.41.35 mts. 2. R. P. P. P. Rajapakse (Army) 2.55.84 mts., 3. P. K. D. N. Chaminda (Police) 3.03.95 mts.

50 Metres Free Style: 1. K. V. S. Priyadharshana (Army) 25.94 secs., 2. Govinda Tidball (Rainbow AC) 26.62 secs., 3. Kushan de Silva (Rainbow AC) 26.86 secs.

4 X 50 Metres Medley Relay: 1. Sri Lanka Army 'A' 2.06.65 mts., 2. Sri Lanka Army 'B' 2.13.44 mts., 3. Sri Lanka Police 'A' 2.16.26 mts.

Overall Championships 2006 - Women

Champions: Mahamaya Girls College 314 points

Runners Up: Hillwood College 52 points.

Third Place: Girls High School, Kandy: 39 points.

Overall Champions IPS 2006 - Men

Champions: Sri Lanka Army - 161 points.

Runners up: Sri Lanka Police - 148 points.

Third Place: Rainbow Aquatic Club: 100 points.

Best Swimmer: Women: Madhavee Weeratunga (Mahamaya College)

Best Swimmer: Men: Kushan de Silva (Rainbow Aquatic Club)