St. Joseph’s College continued their reign as the Men’s Overall Champions at the 48th National Age Group Swimming Championship, clinching the title for the impressive 10th consecutive year. Meanwhile, Lyceum International School Wattala emerged victorious in the Women’s Overall Team category, capping off an exciting final day of competition at the Sugathadasa Stadium Swimming Pool Complex, hosted by the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union yesterday.
St. Joseph’s College dominated the men’s division with a commanding performance, amassing a colossal 662 points. Their remarkable lead of 314 points over runners-up St. Peter’s College, who secured 348 points, highlighted their dominance in the pool. Lyceum International School Wattala claimed the third spot with a commendable 316 points.
In the women’s category, Lyceum Wattala proved their status by scoring 341 points, securing the top position. Lyceum Gampaha followed closely as the runners-up with 237 points, while Visakha Vidyalaya secured the third position with 196 points.
The competition, spanning five days, featured six age categories and 12 age group championships for both men and women, recognized by the SLSU. Among the standout performers were PSM Thenuwara of the Sri Lanka Air Force, crowned Men’s 20 and Over Champion, and Kimuthu de Silva of Triton Aquatics, who claimed the Women’s Championship in the same category.
Notable achievements included Binura Thalagala of Lyceum International School Nugegoda and Dinali Karunadasa of Visakha Vidyalayha emerging as champions in the Under-20 age category for boys and girls respectively. MF Muhammad of Zahira College displayed exceptional talent, securing six gold medals and setting three new meet records, earning him the title of Boys Under-17 Champion. Syesha Anthony of Rainbow Aquatics stood out as the Girls Champion in the same age group.
In the Under-15 category, AIM Haathim of St. Peter’s College and Dilushi Dilshara of Lyceum International School Wattala were crowned champions in the boys and girls segments respectively. Hashel Senarath of Gateway College Colombo claimed the boys championship title in the Under-15 age category, while Serena Saroha of Aqua Dragno Colombo secured the girls championship.
Wrapping up the age groups, Darish Sadhis of Cyclone Aquatics and Maheli Navithma of St. John’s Girls School Panadura emerged as the Boys and Girls Under-11 champions respectively, featuring promising talent at a young age.
The final day saw only one new meet record, set by Serena Saroha from Aqua Dragon Colombo in the Girls Under-13 200m Individual Medley. She clocked in at 2:48.43, beating the old record of 2:48.71 set by Buddhima Samadhi in 2017. The five-day meet wrapped up with 19 mew meet records.
