Colombo International School, Kandy athlete Seneca Guneratne dreams of sprinting to glory
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Seneca easing her way to the finish in the 2020 ISAC meet
Colombo International School (CIS), Kandy athlete 15-year-old Seneca Eshani Guneratne is gearing up to represent Sri Lanka in international competitions this year.
Adjudged Best Athlete in the 2019 Sir John Tarbat Junior Athletic Championship and 2020 International Schools Athletic Championship (ISAC), Seneca underlined her future potential as a sprinter with record shattering performances in the 100 and 200 metres.
The tall lass who is a cut above the rest in her age group, ran a personal best of 25.7 seconds in the 200 metres to set a new meet record in the Sir John Tarbat Junior Athletic Championship. At the ISAC meet last year, she clocked a personal best of 12.61 seconds in the 100 metres.
Having achieved a peak after returning from an injury lay-off, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has not dampened her motivation in her quest for glory.
However, she maintains a perfect balance between education and sports, giving the Selection Trials held for the World Junior Athletic Championship a skip focusing on exams being a first yearAdvanced Level student in the Maths stream.
“My aim is to represent Sri Lanka at international meets. Even going for the Olympics is possible by working hard,” said Seneca who maintained her fitness by training at home for about two months during the lockdown period caused by the viral outbreak.
As soon as the restrictions were lifted, she pursued training with renewed vigour under renowned Walala Central coach Susantha Fernando at the Digana Provincial Sports Complex.
Seneca Eshani Gunaratne during her record-breaking run at the 2019 Sir John Tarbat Junior Athletic Championship
Being a recipient of the NOCSL-Crysbro scholarship is also a great source of motivation for the talented athlete from Kandy in the Central Province.
“It has motivated me to take athletics more seriously because they are supporting and helping me achieve my dreams,” said Seneca who began swimming before taking an interest in athletics from the age of eight.
She came fourth in a 50-metre Under-9 race and won the 80-metre Under-12 event at her first ISAC displaying early signs as a future star. Taking part regular in zonal and district meets, she initially followed in the footsteps of her elder sister Heshani who excelled in the 400m events at ISAC. In her final year at school, Heshani will be pursuing higher studies in law in the United Kingdom.
It was in the 100 and 200 metre events that Seneca displayed her true potential making giant strides to outclass her rivals.
“I didn’t like long distance running,” confided Seneca who burst into the national limelight with her easy and confident running style to sweep the boards at the Sir John Tarbat Junior Athletic Championship.
Seneca did not need much motivation to take to the track and sprint to glory coming from an athletic lineage with her father’s brother Sampath Guneratne having represented Sri Lanka at the Junior Asian Games.
“My parents have been my greatest source of inspiration throughout my career,” said Seneca who has her feet firmly on the ground untainted by her runaway success story. Her father Janeshra is an entrepreneur while her mother Jehani has been a teacher of speech and drama but devoted her attention to bring up her kids.
A grade XII student, Seneca is an avid reader and aims to pursue engineering for higher studies but her immediate goal is to bring glory to Sri Lanka on the track.