Former Trinity Rugby Lion Dilshan carries Olympic Flame through Huntingdon

Former Trinity Rugby Lion Dilshan Senanayake last week carried the Olympic Flame through Huntingdon (Cambridgeshire) amidst hundreds of people who had lined up the streets to see the flame go by. Dilshan was nominated by his employers John Lewis where he is a Finance and Audit administrator.

He was nominated for his role as a Coaching Champion and Mentor for John Lewis’s Partners in Sport program (in association with Sports Coach UK). Through this program over 500 individuals have gone onto achieve coaching qualifications in a sport of their choice funded by John Lewis. Most of these individuals are presently engaged in volunteer coaching children in their communities.

Dilshan himself is a level 1 rugby coach and a level 2, referee coaching age group rugby in the UK. Further in association with national sports store ‘Up and Running’ Dilshan is working on an initiative to source old surplus running clothing to be shipped and distributed to junior athletes in rural schools in Sri Lanka. This initiative is in its infancy and the first consignment will be sent to Sri Lanka this summer.

Dilshan is presently attached to the London Olympic and Paralympics Organizing Committee (on a 6 month secondment from John Lewis). He is attached to Village Management’s Support Operations team at the main games village in Stratford. This team is responsible for all operational phases that involve general village sites and facility management, provision of logistical support for village stake holders etc.

A member of Tyrell Rajapakse’s legendary Trinity team of 1987, he played briefly for both Kandy and Havelocks before leaving for the USA where he played and coached University rugby in the USA and subsequently local club rugby in the UK.  In 2002 he initiated and helped found the TCK/STC Washington DC rugby 7s tournament for old boys of Sri Lankan schools which is now the most popular and best organized rugby tourney in North America. (Source: Sesatha, UK and pix by Rohan Herath - www.rohanherath.co.uk)