24th National Youth Sports Festival:

Eight new meet records set up

SAJEEWA JAYAKODY

Eight new meet records were set up on the first day of the 24th National Youth Sports Festival conducted by Youth Affairs and Skilled Development Ministry, held at the Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday.

Badulla District’s N M Chanuka set a new meet record in the Over 20 men’s 10000m event clocking 31:28.04 breaking the previous record of 31:54.0 set by D W Gunasekera of Kegalle District in 2001. It is country’s athletic legend SLB Rosa, who holds the national record of this 25-round track event, with a timing of 29:18.0 recorded in Arkansas City, USA in 1975.

In the 800m event, M C Dilrukshi of Kurunegala District finished with the timing of 2:05.24 seconds, erasing the previous record of L A Nimali of Hambantota District set up during last year’s championship.Sri Lanka’s ace middle distance runner Dhammika Menike holds thenational record in the 800m with a timing of 2.:03.85 clocked in 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Kurunegala District’s javelin thrower L C Dissanayake recorded 62.59m in the Under-20 men’s Javelin Throw to set a new meet record. He shattered the previous record of 60.68m of Kegalle District’s S J Jayasinghe set up the record two years ago. Sachin Maduranga holds the national record of 77.80m set at the John Tarbet Athletic Championship in September this year at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium, Diyagama.

T K Fernando of Kalutara District bettered her own record in the Over-20 women’s Putt Shot meet record with a record distance of 13.90 metres clearing 13.11 metre-distance recorded by her in last year. National Putt Shot champion Nadeeka Mutunayake, who studied until Ordinary Level at Mawathagama Central College set the Sri Lanka record in 2002 in Bangkok.

It marked a hat-trick of new meet records were set up by the rock city’s athletes as D M Nilantha leaped 7.65 metres in the Over-20 men’s long jump event, clearing the existed record mark of 7.45m set by P S Nilanga in the 23rd edition of the National Youth Games. Kandy District’s Sujith Rohitha recorded the 7.86-metre national record in 1999.

Colombo District’s M M Milan cleared 2.10 metres to be the new meet record holder in the Under-20 Boys high jump event. He bettered the previous best height of 2.09m cleared by M Dissanayake in 2011. Country’s best performer in the high jump event is Manjula Kumara, who holds the national mark 2.27m cleared in 2004 in Colombo.

Meanwhile, A T Lakshani of Puttalam District and N D Lekamge of Ratnapura District established two new meet records in Under-20 Girls Long Jump and Over-20 Women’s Javelin Throw events respectively.

Lakshani leaped 5.62 metres shattering the previous record holder of Gampaha District’s M D Dilrukshi’s mark of 5.56m set in 2011. Lekamge floated in their to land the javelin of the mark of 49.17 metres ahead of her previous best distance of 46.43m set in 2011.

According to the tournament rules, current Sri Lankan record holders are not allowed to compete in the Nationtal Youth Games, where all the Youth Clubs are taking part representing the 25 districts in the island.

So far, no competitor was able to establish a new Sri Lanka record at the 24th edition of the National Youth Games, where athletes are striving to drive the brand new motor car, which is offered to the first athlete who breaks a new national record.

Twenty-three finals will be completed on the second day, today of the three-day championship starting with the 10000m Under-20 Boys finals at 8.30am.