St. Joseph’s sweep Open Water Championship

St. Joseph’s College triumphed as the overall champions in both the 1 km and 3 km events at the Annual Open Water Sea Swimming Championship organized by the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU), which concluded at the Beach Park, Port City Colombo yesterday.

The men’s team, led by Aaron De Saram, took home the top honors in both the 1 km and 3 km categories. On the women’s side, Sri Lanka Army emerged victorious with a dominant overall score of 50 points, while the women’s champions were led by N.H.A. De Silva in the 10 km race.

In the 1 km event, Aaron De Saram led St. Joseph’s College to victory with Sevin Nanayakkara and Aaron Ranaweera securing second and third positions, respectively. St. Joseph’s College continued their strong performance in the 3 km category, though individual medals eluded them, with Rehan Jayasooriya coming in 4th place. In the women’s 10 km race, N.H.A. De Silva of the Sri Lanka Army claimed first place, followed by Seneshi Herath of Colombo Swimming Academy in second and H.M.P.P. Shanthi, also from Sri Lanka Army, in third. The men’s 10 km event saw I. Nirod Theekshana from Lion Swimming Club Ambalangoda clinch first place, with G.S.N. Perera of Sri Lanka Navy and R.B.D. Niroshana from Sri Lanka Army rounding out the top three.

Sri Lanka Army also dominated the 5 km open water events, with Nirod Theekshana and Senitha Deenal securing wins in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively. However, the women’s 5 km title went to S.A. De Silva of Sri Devananda College, Ambalangoda.

In the 1 km open water races, Sethumi Kaluarachchi of the Sri Lanka Navy took the top honor in the girls’ event, while Aaron De Saram continued his outstanding performance in the boys’ event, leading St. Joseph’s College to an impressive overall victory with 62 points.

The championship saw notable performances from Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda in both the boys’ and girls’ 3 km events, where Kumath Dewnudu and T. Mihirangi Gunawardane emerged victorious, respectively.

St. Joseph’s College’s dominance in the men’s events helped them secure the overall championship in the men’s category, with Sri Lanka Army finishing second. On the women’s side, Sri Devananda College and Mahamaya Girls College Kandy made their mark, with Mahamaya taking the top honours with 38 points.

Source:Daily News