Killer Whales devour medals up for grabs
The Killer Whale Aquatics club has made a habit out of carving through all comers in the water, aggressively disposing of their opposition in a manner much akin to their eponymous heavyweight predator. But over the years they have also proven that their
Matthew Abeysinghe in action. - Pic by Amila Gamage
uccess has not been solely constructed on an immense block of talent but carefully sculpted inside a scaffolding of calculated training and unbending commitment to excellence.
Both these virtues are the underlying principles of club head coach and founder Manoj Abeysinghe’s swimming philosophy. Manoj is also a firm believer in the potential of Sri Lanka’s swimmers but stresses the only thing stymieing them is a lack of full-time focus.
“In Sri Lanka there is a problem where at the age of 15 swimmers want to be done with swimming, because the O’ Levels are around the corner. My philosophy is that you can do both well,” he explains.
“It is very rare to see teenagers winning world championships, unless in special cases like that of Michael Phelps. Even if you look at the US national team the average age is around 28.”
Manoj points to the record-breaking exploits of locally-renowned swimmers such as Julian Bolling and Conrad Francis as evidence of this, with both men aged in their mid 20s when they etched many of their longstanding national marks.
The Killer Whale club seeks to remedy this by grooming swimmers who will grow to exhibit a strong and continuing commitment to the sport. It does this by filtering its members into different tiers based on how much time and effort they are willing to invest in the sport.
The coach, who gained invaluable insight into the sport while working in the US, says that another training trademark of the Killer Whale club is patience in each of its young stars’ development.
“We don’t over-train our swimmers but make sure that they peak at the right time. We make sure that we are patient when they are young and bring on the heavy-duty training when they’re old enough,” he said.
Through this system the club hones and hosts the country’s top male and female swimmers. Prominent among this field of aquatic luminaries is Manoj’s son Matthew, who is also the country’s top performer by a pool’s length.This year’s nationals produced a rich vein of victories and records for Matthew and rounded off a dominant run, which saw him impressively secure ‘A’ standard qualification for the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing by cracking the 200-meter freestyle record.Another perfect exponent of KWA’s training ideals is seventeen-year-old Machiko Raheem. During the recent past, Machiko has decimated every other possible contender on the girls’ and women’s swimming circuit and along with her younger sister Kimiko, secured a ‘B’ qualifying time for the Youth Olympics.
“The club has definitely made a lot of positive changes to my swimming. It is pretty tough, as you get older, it gets harder to improve but the atmosphere and the feeling of working together as a team is really helpful,” Machiko divulges.
This team dynamic is glaringly apparent while they are being put through their paces in training. Aside from the friendly banter, most of the out-of-water exercises harbour a group element, with workouts executed in clusters of two or more swimmers.This cohesion also attaches itself to the club’s performances at swim meets. You will rarely encounter a national championship where a single Killer Whale disproportionately shoulders the responsibility of medal acquisition, but rather they hunt in a pack, exercising dominance across multiple age groups.
Killer Whale team
“Killer Whale is different because unlike in school we concentrate a lot on swimming; high-class, professional swimming,” Mevan Ruwan, who is busy preparing for the upcoming fourth Asian Schools Swimming Championship.
His teammates Hashini Mathew and Harini Silva, who will also be competing at the meet, echo these sentiments stressing that the club’s training regimen has imbued them with a tougher physical and psychological disposition.
Having achieved many of the milestones that Killer Whale Aquatics mapped out for itself locally, Manoj is now looking to steer it towards a new, more ambitious frontier.
“I want them to be able to compete internationally. If I was to take this club to any foreign meet I want them to be competitive.“
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