In an incredible show of swimming talent, Dinali Karunadasa, representing Champions Visakha Vidyalaya, achieved a historic feat at the recently concluded All Island School Games Swimming Championship at Sugathadasa Swimming Pool. Not only did Karunadasa secure three gold medals, but she also shattered three records, marking a significant milestone in her young career. Visakha Vidyalaya claimed their fourth consecutive championship.
Competing in the Under-18 age category, Karunadasa left her mark from the very beginning of the three-day tournament. In the 400m freestyle event, she broke the meet record with a remarkable time of 4 minutes and 59.32 seconds, earning her the first gold medal. This performance wiped out the previous record of 5 minutes and 3.48 seconds, set by JUI Silva in 2017.
On the same day of the championship, the 17-year-old swimmer continued her dominance by winning her second gold medal in the 200m Individual Medley event, clocking an impressive personal best 2 minutes and 38.92 seconds. Her outstanding performance erased the previous record of 2 minutes and 39.11 seconds, held by Hiruki de Silva from the previous year.
Karunadasa’s incredible journey concluded on the final day of the competition when she secured her third gold medal in the 200m freestyle event with a time of 2 minutes and 17.94 seconds, a personal best.
This achievement erased the previous record of 2 minutes and 19.10 seconds, which had stood for six years, and earned her 549 FINA points for the event.
In a statement, Karunadasa expressed her dedication to this remarkable achievement, saying, “I trained relentlessly for this meet, especially knowing we had a selection trial. I was confident about breaking two records before the meet, and breaking the record in the 200m freestyle was a dream come true. I couldn’t believe it. So, I did my absolute best to break these records.”
Karunadasa also highlighted her recent accomplishments, mentioning, “I participated in the National Swimming Championships this year, where I secured three gold medals and several silver medals. Additionally, I had the honour of representing Sri Lanka at the Singapore National Swimming Championship, where I achieved personal best times in the 200m Individual Medley (2:41.69) and the 200m freestyle (2:20.22).”
It’s worth noting that Karunadasa also won three gold medals in the 1500m freestyle, 800m freestyle, and 400m Individual Medley at the National Swimming Championship conducted by SLASU in July of this year.
The young swimmer credited her success to her dedicated training at Killer Whale Aquatics (KWA) under the guidance of Coach Manoj Abeysinghe for the past seven years. She expressed her gratitude, stating, “Coach Manoj Abeysinghe has been instrumental in my journey. He has always pushed us to reach our full potential, never allowing us to slack off in training. He has played a significant role in helping me improve my standards.”
Karunadasa’s achievements transcend national borders, as she proudly shared, “I had the opportunity to compete at the Malaysian National in 2018, and Singapore Nationals recently and I hope to continue representing Sri Lanka and aiming for medals at the South Asian Games next year.”
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