Ruel Wickramaratne, a 14-year-old diver from Royal College has made history by becoming the youngest ever to win the men’s Platform event at the National Diving Championship.
Competing at the 48th edition of the championship, held at the Sugathadasa Stadium Swimming Pool Complex last week, Wickremaratne broke a 23-year-old record.
He scored an impressive 189.4 points, defeating senior national champion Royal College’s diving captain Venuka Kankanamge, who scored 172.9 points in the Platform event.
The victory not only displayed Wickremaratne’s gold medal potential but also secured his place in the record books as the youngest diver to win the Platform event at the Nationals.
He surpassed the previous record set by Chanaka Wickramasinghe, the diving coach of Royal College, who held the record at the age of 15 during the 2001 Nationals.
“Ruel Wickremaratne is an exceptional young talent,” said Wickramasinghe who is now his coach. “At just 14, he has shown remarkable skill and maturity beyond his years. His dedication and natural ability have allowed him to accomplish things that most divers can only dream of at his age. I have no doubt that he has a bright future ahead in diving”.
In addition to his gold medal in the men’s Platform event, Wickremaratne also impressed in the one metre springboard event where he won a silver medal with a score of 161.25 points, just ahead of Kankanamge, who finished with 161.1 points.
Wickremaratne earned another silver medal in the 3m Springboard event, scoring 172.9 points while Kankanamge took home the gold.
Last month Wickremaratne represented Sri Lanka at the 14th Singapore National Diving Championship winning four medals, two golds, one silver and one bronze. His success helped the Sri Lankan team achieve a total of 28 medals, outperforming divers from Singapore, Indonesia and Macau.
Wickramasinghe and assistant coach Prasad Dissanayake have played important roles in his development as a diver. Besides his achievements in diving, Wickremaratne is also the captain of the Under-15 basketball team at Royal College, displaying that he is a versatile athlete.
