Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps or ..:

Mineka - moments of glory

Angu Rajendran

Just as the Americans feel proud of Mark Spitz's swimming achievements and the Australians feel about Michael Phelps, so also we feel about our own Mineka

Karunaratne who has brought so much honour and glory to our country, her parents, her school and her coach.

While Mirpur's National Swimming Complex, Bangladesh was ablaze with the Indian anthem being continuously played through the seventeen swimming events at the SAAF games 2010, there were only three breaks. All three times our own 'Namo Namo Matha' was played. Of which, twice was for Mineka Karunaratne.

She is the only swimmer from Sri Lanka (or non-Indian swimmer) to win two gold medals in Bangladesh. She was responsible for the Sri Lankan flag to be hoisted two out of the three times by the poolside in Mirpur, Bangladesh. "The feeling was simply overwhelming," she says. "I got gooseflesh when our flag was hoisted and our anthem was played. I simply cannot describe the patriotic feeling that I felt. I am so proud to be a Sri Lankan," says this teenager who turns eighteen in two months."

Have you ever won medals for the country before?

"Yes, in 2007. I won gold for the 100m breaststroke at the South Asian Swimming Championships held in Pakistan becoming the only Sri Lankan woman to win gold outside the country. At that time I just went for broke. There were no expectations of me. My timing was good, not great."

How did you feel before your first event - 50m breaststroke - this time in Bangladesh?

"Oh. My God! I have never felt more nervous in my life before. During the training sessions leading up to the Games, I was going great guns. My timing was simply getting better each session. My expectations of my own performance became very high. The expectation of the Swimming Federation was also very high. The expectations of my coach were also immense. Obviously this meant that there was a lot of pressure on me." Her personal coach Julian Bolling even gave up Christmas Eve despite being a devout Christian to train her. There were no holidays. It was training everyday and Mineka was feeling on top of the world. Her timing was good.

How was the pool in Bangladesh?

"The water is very different. Maybe it is hard water, I don't know but it was very very hard to push in the water. The weather was also very very cold so it was hard to breathe. I realized that during the heats which of course I won." Of course she did not sleep the night she landed. She had worried about the next day's event, after training in the cold, hard water that evening. After tossing and turning all night long in the hostel bed, she got ready for the heats the following morning which she won but not with great timing.

What did you do to perform better in the big event itself?

"I called Julian and told him that I seem to be taking long strokes. I saw it on the video that my mother took of my swimming in the heat. Julian suggested taking shorter and quicker strokes and a better start. Julian always says to 'major on minor details' like the start, the finish and the turnaround for the 100m. You can knock off many micro seconds with attention to detail. Julian always got so many many videos to show me how to improve my stroke. After talking to Julian I felt somewhat ready for my event the next day."

How did you feel just before the event?

"Nishantha - the national coach - prayed with me before I walked on deck. That really calmed me down a lot. That was very very sweet of him. It was just what I needed at that time. I was just a nervous wreck before the prayer. Then, I walked on deck to a packed stadium that was cheering their star swimmer. (Bangladesh' Mahfuza Khatun). She was swimming on lane 3 and I was on lane 4.

As we took our places on the blocks, I nearly collapsed with nervousness. I knew Mahfuza was the under-dog. She had nothing to lose. I had my whole country and myself pinning their hopes on me. Will I let us down? Will I be able to swim fast enough? Will these thoughts just stop and let me swim my best? Those were the worst moments in my life. But in just about thirty seconds I would know and the world would know."

Did you know that you would win while you were swimming?

"No, she matched me stroke for stroke."

What then made the difference?

"When I saw the T just before the end, I had to make a split-micro second decision." The T is on the bottom of the pool to indicate that there is only one metre for

the finish. Most swimmers don't lift their head to look at the finish. It wastes valuable seconds. They look at the T at the end of the lane in the pool that indicates the 1 metre before the finish mark.

What was the decision you made?

"When I saw the T I knew I could either take two short strokes to cover the 1 metre or one long stroke and glide to the finish. I decided on the latter. I took one long stroke and lunged to the finish. That decision is what helped me finally clinch it."

What happened as you finished?

"I did not know who had won. The whole stadium erupted as we both came out of the water. Obviously I thought Mahfuza had won when I heard the cheering. My mum also thought she had won. We could not see the computer time on the board. We were surrounded by reporters. I peeked and looked so hard and at last saw my lane number 4 on top. The relief I felt, I cannot describe. Oh my God! The gold was ours. Our flag will go up at last and our anthem will be sung, I thought."

Though Mahfuza's Korean coach was sure that Mineka won because she is much taller than Mahfuza, Mineka feels it is the finish. Julian's attention to detail while training her and the experience that enabled her to take the right decision at the right time were what brought Sri Lanka's first gold for swimming. "Mahfuza touched the finish pad over the water and Mineka touched under the water.

Thank goodness for computer timing," says Mineka's mother Chrisani Karunaratne. Mineka's mother is always very supportive of her only child's activities, carting her for all her training sessions especially in the evenings. Dad usually handles the mornings at 5 a.m. when mum wants to sleep.

What about the 100m breaststroke the next day?

"Winning the 50m gave me all the confidence that I needed for the 100m. I knew that I could win but somehow the climate and the water did not allow me to reach my best timing. Even though I tried so hard not to let the cheering affect me, knowing that crowds always like the under-dog to win, I am affected by it in a strange way. When I took the block, I just got a small cheer from our handball team but when Mahfuza went on the block, you should have heard the cheering - deafening."

Even better news awaited Mineka as she returned to Asian International School. Incidentally, she is Asian International School's Swimming Captain. Mineka got her report card for the recent school mock exams that she had done. Mineka had topped her class. This first ranker studies Science subjects for the London Advanced levels at Asian International School. She loves Biology but does not want to be a doctor because it takes too many years to qualify. She is now at a juncture where she has to make an even bigger life decision.

Does she want to take all the opportunities offered by Sri Lanka's Swimming Federation and train for the Olympics in 2012 or does she want to pursue her studies and become a lawyer? Mineka will take the right decision since 'swimming has taught me discipline, hard work, the will to succeed and the ability to say 'no' and the ability to say 'yes'." Mineka Karunaratne is a precious daughter, outstanding swimmer and an excellent student.