Sports

Sports

Sir John Tarbat Athletics Championship 2004
Kulawansa’s record equalled
Ananda College Colombo and A. Ratnayake MMV, Menikhinna emerge overall champions
By M. Shamil Amit
Ananda College Colombo and A. Ratnayake MMV, Walalla Menikhinna emerged overall champions in the boys and girls categories at the Sir John Tarbat Senior Athletics Championship 2004 concluded at the Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday.

Ananda secured 122 1/3 points to pip D.S. Senanayake Colombo who got 121 points while Mahinda College Galle ended up in the third place with 115 points. In the girls category A. Ratnakaye MMV, Walalla receiving 118 points emerged the champions for the second successive year with Sumana Balika MV Ratnapura and St Paul's Balika MV Wennappuwa joint second with 110 points each.

The meet which began on Thursday saw 13 records being established with one Sri Lankan record being equalled by R.K.P. Priyangika Maduwanthi from Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya, Kurunegala in the high jump event. She cleared a height of 1.75 metres. She eclipsed the meet record of 1.60 metres set by Muditha Harshini of Sirimavo Balika MV and went on to equal the Sri Lanka record set by Sriyani Kulawansa 13 years ago. This earned her the award for the most outstanding athlete of the championship in the girl's category.

The most outstanding athlete in the boys category went to G.P. Sanath Udayanga of Mahinda College Galle who also established a new meet record in the Boys Under 20 Triple Jump event with a leap of 15.56 metres which lowered the record set by G.P. Sarath last year also of Mahinda College.

Meanwhile four records were established on the final day of the meet yesterday and all records established were in the girls category. The first record of the day was set by D. Chamika Ranaweera of Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya, Matara in the Girls Under 16 100 metres hurdles event where she timed 15.6 seconds eclipsing the record of 15.8 set by Chaturi Waduge of Visakha Vidyalaya in 2000.

The second record of the day was established by K.P.M.N. Kalupahana of Sumana Balika Vidyalaya Ratnapura in the Girls Under 18, 100 metres hurdles event when she broke her own record of 15.52 seconds set last year with a timing of 15.2.

The third record for the day was by Ruwani Rubasinghe of St Mary's Convent Matara which was in Girls Under 20 Triple Jump event with a leap of 12.50 metres which erased the record of 11.46 jointly set by Ruwani herself and Lakshila Maduwanthi of Sumana Balika Vidyalaya Ratnapura. The last record established for the day was by G.G.S.P. Sandasheeli Bandara of Hedunuwewa Central Hatton in the Girls Under 18 Javelin event where she hurled a throw of 35.57 metres which bettered the record of 35.13 metres set by P.G.M.K.M. Jayasiri of Weerakeppitipola MV Akuranboda in 2003.

It was encouraging to see the outstations athletes dominating the championships with ninety percent of the records broken being established from athletes in the lesser known schools. The meet organized by the Sri Lanka Schools Athletics Association saw 2,200 athletes participating from 272 schools around the island in 104 events.

Top