Rising swimming star MF Muhammad, representing Zahira College, made an impressive mark at the Sri Lanka National School Games, setting new records in all three events he participated in. The event was hosted by the Sri Lanka Schools Swimming Association under the guidance of the Ministry of Education and concluded its second day at the Sugathadasa Stadium Swimming Pool.
On Saturday, MF Muhammad showcased his talent by setting two new records in the 50m Breaststroke and 200m Individual Medley events. But he didn’t stop there. On the second day of the competition, he broke the 100m Breaststroke record, cementing his status as a champion swimmer in this three-day event.
Competing in the Under-16 age group, Muhammad displayed outstanding speed and technique, clocking an impressive 31.39 seconds in the 50m Breaststroke. Not only did he secure victory, but he also erased the previous record of 32.50 seconds, set by Pramesh Cooray of St Peter’s College in 2017.
Muhammad’s dominance was even more evident in the 200m Individual Medley, where he obliterated the previous meet record by a remarkable seven seconds, clocking an astonishing 2:18.65. The prior record of 2:25.06, held by Amodya Dulshan of Nalanda College since 2018, had no chance against Muhammad’s exceptional performance.
In the 100m Breaststroke event held yesterday, Muhammad continued to shine. He recorded a time of 1:09.81, breaking the previous record of 1:13.17 set by SA Deshapriya of Dharmaraja College in 2018.
This marked an impressive four-second improvement on the previous record. Notably, the silver and bronze medal winners of the event, Mehara Boomikethu of Richmond College and Senitha Deenal of St Joseph’s College, also surpassed the record with times of 1:10.89 and 1:12.89, respectively.
In the Girls Under-16 category, Seya Kariyawasam of Sangamitta Balika Vidyalaya joined the record- breaking spree. She recorded an impressive time of 1:18.21 in the 100m Breaststroke, erasing the previous record set by the renowned Ramudi Samarakoon of Visakha Vidyalaya back in 2017.
SAJEEWA JAYAKODY