Minagi Rupesinghe, made history by recording the best-ever time for Sri Lanka in the 10km Open water race for women while competing in the World Aquatic Open Water Swimming Junior World Championship in Alghero, Italy last week.
Rupesinghe clocked an impressive 2:36.02, securing the 29th place globally and her timing is now recognized as the fastest ever for Sri Lanka in the women’s 10km Open water category.
Rupesinghe, who is based in the UK, also participated in the women’s 3km knockout race, where she finished 21st with a time of 19:06.40.
In the boys’ category, Australian-based Sri Lankan swimmer Tharusha Perera, considered the second-best Open water swimmer in Sri Lanka, finished 45th in the 7.5km race with a time of 18:14.30. Methvan Fernando of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, followed closely clocking 1:34.45 and placed 46th.
Both Perera and Charan Rupesinghe competed in the men’s 3km heats. Perera finished 25th with a time of 18:14.03 while UK-based Rupesinghe came in 28th recording a time of 19:03.10.
Former Sri Lanka swimmer Ghefari Dulapandan served as the team’s coach and Chef De Mission with Tharusha Perera, Pubudini Wickramaratne, and Susantha Fernando as part of the support staff.
