Wesley’s swimming sensation — Adeetha
Ten-year-old Adeetha Siriwardena of Wesley College last week became Sri Lanka’s Under-11 Age Group Swimming Champion at the National Age Group Swimming Championship held at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool Complex.
Young Siriwardena came first in the 50m Backstroke and went on to establish a new Sri Lanka Age Group record. He also came First in the 100m Backstroke (creating a provisional Sri Lankan Age Group Record), first in the 100m Freestyle, second in the 200m Individual Medley and second in the 200m Freestyle.
Siriwardena began his swimming career at Wesley by competing in the 2014 College Inter-House Championship. He was the youngest swimmer to participate in the Under-9 age group category and became the Under-9 Wesley College Inter-House Champion defeating swimmers three years older to him.
He has five Under-9 Wesley swimming records to his credit. During the years of 2014 to 2018, he has won more than 80 medals and a number of trophies in numerous swimming championships in Sri Lanka and overseas.
In the Under-11 age group category at last year’s National Age Group Championships, he won a gold and silver medal for the 100m and 50m back stroke events competing with national swimmers older to him. In the 2017 Sri Lanka Schools National Swimming Championships he competed in three events and won two golds and a bronze medal.
In 2018 May, he competed in the National Pentathlon Championships in the Under-11 Age Group Category becoming overall second, winning the silver medal. In the same month he competed in the National Relay Championships in the Under-11 age group category which saw his team winning first places in both the 200m Freestyle and 200m Medley Relay events.
The team established a new Sri Lankan Record for the 200m medley event. In 2018 August competing in the Sri Lankan National Age Group Championships he became the Under-11 Sri Lankan National Age Group champion.
He is the current 50m Backstroke record holder in the Under-11 National Age Group category and also the provisional Sri Lanka record holder in the Under-11 100m Backstroke National Age Group category.
Young Siriwardena is the only swimmer to achieve a National Level Championship for Wesley College during its history of 144 years.
