Lakshman de Alwis to be honoured at Sri Lak Meet

Sri Lak Athletic Club will pay tribute to one of their greatest athletes, the late Lakshman de Alwis, when they conduct the Golden Jubilee Track and Field Athletic Meet on December 18 at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Sri Lak Athletic Club, which has produced some of the finest athletes to the country in the recent past has renamed this year’s event as the ‘Lakshman de Alwis Memorial Athletic Meet’ in respect to the late Lakshman de Alwis, who was a pioneer in inaugurating the club.

The late de Alwis was a top coach cum administrator, who dedicated his entire life to the promotion and development of athletics in the country before his life was snatched away by a cruel LTTE suicide cadre while officiating at a regional marathon at Weliweriya in the Gampaha District on April 6, 2008. The Sri Lak Athletic Club has produced several top athletes during the past 50 years including Sriyantha Dissanayake, Vijitha Amarasekera, Benildus Fernando, Ineka Cooray, P. M. Gunawardena, U. K. Upali, Narendra Silva, V. K. L. Samarasinghe, Ramani Mangalika and Manoj Mallawarachchi.

Over 1,500 athletes are set to participate in this year’s meet, which will include events for Boys’ and Girls’ Under-11, Under-14, Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20 categories.

The entries for the meet will close on December 10 and all entries should reach Lakruwan Perera, Secretary, Sri Lak Athletic Club, 28/6A, Subhodi Mawatha, Battaramulla.