Mayumi in swim team to Canada

BY LESLIE Fernando

MAYUMI Raheem of Rainbow Aquatic Club is the third swimmer to be included to the Sri Lanka team to swim at the World Swimming Championships in Montreal, Canada from July 17 to 21.

Only two swimmers in Milinda Wickremasinghe of St. Joseph's College and Prabha Madhavi Dharmadasa of Asian International School were chosen to swim.

The two officials are SSP Kithsiri Dayananda (manager) and E.G.A. Wilson (coach).

The two swimmers and two officials were selected by Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) and the Ministry of Sports approved it. But Raheem's inclusion to the squad came from different sources and with the Sports Ministry's intervention.

The SLASU agreed to include her to the team. But the approval to swim in Montreal and to register her name had to be done by FINA- the world governing body. SLASU request to accommodate and extra swimmer Mayumi Raheem was granted by the FINA.

So Raheem will join Wickremasinghe and Dharmadasa to make the trip to Montreal.

FINA has allocated US dollars two thousand each for travel and accomodation expenses for Wickremasinghe and Dharmadasa (two swimmers) plus two officials - Dayananda and Wilson but Raheem will not be funded by FINA.

According to SLASU official Raheem is to be funded by SLASU/Sports Ministry a combine effort.

The three swimmers are undergoing intensive training under their respective coaches. Wickremasinghe is training at the Josephian swimming pool under his own coach Ruwan Manawadu, Dharmadasa under her coach E.G.A. Wilson at the Sugathadasa Stadium pool and Raheem trains at the NCC swimming pool under former 'Star' swimmer Julian Bolling.