From the moment she attended her first school practice Yanithtra Hallock, one of the country's young and emerging rowers, always felt a growing affinity towards the sport. This passion has compelled her to continue working hard, resulting in her moving from the waters of the Beira and Bolgoda Lakes, all the way to those in India.

The occasion for her journey was this year's Madras- Colombo Regatta in Chennai, where Yanithtra together with her teammates from the Colombo Rowing Club, won the Double Sculls event. This was the second time that Yanithtra had partaken in the event, with her previous trip in 2008 disappointingly yielding no such glory. The gold medal which she brought back also serves to testify to the vast improvement in her rowing over those past two years.

Yanithtra Hallock (blue cap) and her teammate rowing determinedly to victory.

However unkind 2008 was to Yanithtra on an international front, it did eventually materialize into what the 17-year-old describes as her most productive and memorable season. This is because in addition to it being the year during which she witnessed gold medal success at the fours and pairs events at the Rowing Nationals, it was also the period during which she stamped her dominance over her alma mater's perennial rivals, Museaus College.

"That was the year the A Fours team, which I was a part of, beat Museaus College at our annual regatta in a new record time. Achieving something like that really makes you feel proud, and I am extremely grateful that I was part of such a great team," Yanithtra recollects.

She and her colleagues, Amayi Mandawala, Varunika Samarasingha, Tarea Navaratne, Khyati Wikramanayeke, clocked in at 3.39 minutes, a timing sufficient to secure her the Ladies' College 'Oarswoman of the Year' accolade.

This year, although not as stellar as 2008, has been notably impressive all the same, with Yanithtra taking home gold and silver in the open category's fours and pairs events respectively at the Rowing National Championships.

Having achieved so much in a sporting career that is still very much in its early stages, it is easy to forget that this talented youngster still has several years to work on her craft before she is the finished product.
Yanithtra realizes this and does not shy away from the hard work that is necessary to propel her towards this eventual goal. Her taxing training regimen sees her paddling her boat on Tuesdays and Thursdays from the time her school finishes until about 6.30 in the evening, while on Sunday this duration is extended by several hours.

"Generally during the rowing season I increase my workouts to prepare for upcoming tournaments, especially when competitions like the Colombo-Madras Regatta or the Nationals are around the corner," Yanithtra reveals.

She concedes that certain areas of her overall skill set, in particular her sculling, still require some work, but she is confident that together with her long time coach Udesh Hettiarachchi she can overcome these flaws and see eventual improvement.

In the meantime Yanithtra remains extremely grateful for the sport that has contributed not only to her physical development but also in a certain sense to her mental maturity. "I feel that as a person it has made me stronger and I advise any person that wants to take up the sport to go ahead with that idea. It is something that really pushes you to your limits and physically it forces you to use every muscle in your body," she reveals.

Currently Yanithtra is more than happy to continue rowing for Ladies College, moving from strength to strength as time progresses. She does however envision the sport being a part of her life even once she has left school, saying, "I will definitely keep on rowing even when I am in University and possibly one day aim to represent the country in international competition, which if it happens would be a great honour for me."