Special Olympics 2015: Sri Lanka returns with 3 golds, 2 silvers, 3 bronzes

By Hishan Welmilla

The Sri Lankan contingent competing at the Special Olympics brought honor and fame to the motherland by winning three gold, two silver and two bronze medals. The games concluded on 2 August in Los Angeles, US.

Sri Lanka fielded seven athletes at the Special Olympics who competed in athletics and badminton. 

Akbo Jayawardana was responsible for bring two gold medals for Sri Lanka in the men’s 200 metres Division 52  and in the men’s 100 metres Division 62 events  Jayawardana clocked 42.76 seconds in the men’s 200 metres Division 52 and recorded a time of 19.02 seconds in the men’s 100 metres Division 62.

He also competed in the men’s 100 metres Division 60 and men’s 200 metres Division 46 and was not able to end with a podium finish.

Diliki Fernando won the first gold medal for Sri Lanka in the very first day of the competition in the women’s 400 metres Division 8. She completed the event in a time of one minute 20.10 seconds. Apart from that she competed in the women’s 200 metres Division 19 and finished in sixth position with a time of 35.00 seconds. She also competed in the women’s 400 metres Division 10 event also at the competition and clocked 01 minute 22.84 seconds.

Preethika Gamage gave Sri Lanka’s its first silver medal in the competition when she won the second place in the women’s 1500 metres Division 1 with a time of 5 minutes 48.77seconds. She made Sri Lanka proud again when she clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 800 metres Division 2 with a time of two minutes 52.11 seconds.

Manojan Jayachandran is the other silver medalist for Sri Lanka. He competed in men’s 100 metres Division 54 and clocked 24.48 seconds to take the medal for Sri Lanka.

Thilan Vitharana bagged Sri Lanka’s second bronze medal when he placed third in the men’s singles badminton MCG9 event. Mayooran Arsakulasooriyan is the other bronze medalist for Sri Lanka. He achieved this feat by wining the third place in the men’s 100 metres Division 61 with a time of 17.45 seconds. Mayooran finished sixth with a time of 40.22 seconds in the men’s 200 metres Division 47 event.  Meanwhile, Sureka Gammaddge competed in the women’s 100 metres division 3 and finished fifth with a time of 16.44 seconds. She was unlucky with few centimeters to grab the bronze medal in the women’s Long Jump Division F10. She managed to finish fourth in the overall positions with a jump of 2.86 metres.

Overall, the performance of the Sri Lankans was commendable and they were able to make a mark at the Special Olympics. There were fewer participants for this year’s event than in 2013 due to the unavailability of funds. Bank of Ceylon came forward to provide financial assistance for the team’s air travel at the eleventh hour. Kompass Consultancy Dubai provided the official attire and the tracks kits for the Sri Lankan contingent and the Bata Shoe Company Sri Lanka provided the athletes with the required running shoes with the intervention of Sri Lanka’s first sports website www.srilankasports.com

The Special Olympics is held every two years in the summer. Over 6,500 athletes from 165 countries descended upon Los Angeles to show the true meaning of courage, joy and determination. Athletes competed in 25 different sports at venues throughout Los Angeles, including USC and UCLA. The 2017 Special Olympics will be held in Austria from 14-25 March