Kandy has produced several Olympic heroes especially in athletics and boxing Here are some of them who have brought honour and fame to their home town with their achievements. Duncan White–who had the rare honour of winning the Silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the1948,Wembley Olympics 400 metres hurdles,
At Trinity Duncan White won his‘Lion’ in Athletics. He captained the athletic team. He was also a ruggerite of repute . He broke the Public Schools 220 yards record and won the 120 yards hurdles event and long jump. He also established a 440 yards record and was selected to participate at the first Empire Games held in Australia in 1938.
He won the 440 yards hurdles at the first Indo-Ceylon contest, smashing the Indian record.He became the British and Irish Universities 440 yards hurdles champion and record holder while at Loughborough College, UK. He also captained the Ceylon team to Commonwealth Games in New Zealand and took the Gold Medal in 440 yards hurdles with a new record.
Leslie Donovan Perera Handunge– The first Sri Lankan to enter an Olympic ring and win a bout was the second son of Kandy to blaze the Olympic trail. At school he was known as Perera. He joined Trinity College as a schoolboy from Matale, and was guided on the correct path by the coaches.
He represented Ceylon at the 1948 Olympic Games and was the first Ceylonese to enter an Olympic ring and win an Olympic bout. He led the Ceylon team to the 1952 Olympic Games.
Handunge excelled at Trinity College in four major games – Cricket, Boxing, Rugger and Athletics, and after leaving school, he played inter-club hockey, football and rugger for Kandy Sports Club and Kandy YMCA.
He won his first National Title in 1944, the Flyweight category. He won the Best Boxer’s Award at the Intermediate, Meet. Albert Perera Farewell Meet and National Championships. He represented the University of Ceylon at boxing and rugger and was the British and Irish University Bantamweight champion boxer while at Loughbrough College.
Malcolm Bulner –a product of St. Sylvester’s College, the one and only Kandy product , if not in the world who was selected to represent two different countries at two different Olympic games. In 1964 Tokyo Olympics he represented Ceylon and was selected to represent Australia at the following Olympic Games. He also boxed for Sri Lanka at the Empire Games in Perth and the Asian Games in Bangkok. He also represented Ceylon at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
Sellapulliyage Lucian Benedict Rosa is a former Sri Lankan long-distance runner. Arguably, the greatest long distance runner Sri Lanka has produced, and was hailed as one of the finest track stars in Asia. He was once the Chief Cross Country Coach of the University of Wisconsin, Parkside,USA. He represented Sri Lanka at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany. He is best known for running bare footed and winning the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres double at the 1970 Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand.
His performance in 10,000metres was also an Asian Games record.At the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1966, he won the bronze medal in both 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. His personal best performance in the 10,000 metres,29:18.0 minutes, still stands as a Sri Lankan national record since 1975. Born in Kandy, Rosa started his athletic career at Roman Catholic School, Ampitiya. Later he joined the Army and continued to pursue athletics. He led the Sri Lankan team in the 1972 Olympics
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