An Independence athletics anecdote

After 400 years of Western domination Ceylon -as Sri Lanka was known- gained Independence on February 4, 1948. Heralding the occasion four athletes from the four corners of the Island brought four scrolls to the Independence Square to be handed over to Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake who was to read it aloud for the public.

The four reputed athletes represented the four communities. They were Oscar Wijesinghe, Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sham Mustafa and Duncan White. Arriving at the Independence Square they handed the scrolls to four young women also representing the four communities – Swarnamali Amarasuriya , Srimani Ramachandra, Ayesha Sally and Phyllis de Kretser and they in turn handed the scrolls to Prime Minister who read them over the public address system.

It was indeed a happy coincidence that in the very same year Sri Lanka made her appearance at the greatest sporting event in the world, as an Independent Nation. A team comprising of three athletes and three boxers represented the country at the XIVth Olympic Games in London.

No one ever dreamed that any of the participants would ever win a medal at the greatest sports festival held after the Second World War. On July 31, in the finals of the 400 Meters Hurdles event, Duncan White of Ceylon, though beaten by Roy Cochran of USA to second place, lowered the existing Olympic record skimming the hurdles in 51.8 seconds getting the first medal for Independent Ceylon at an international sporting event.

Commenting on the breathtaking performance, the then President of the Sri Lanka Olympic Association said: “White has done more for Ceylon in 51.8 seconds than all the propaganda over 100 years.” He was none other than one of the runners who brought the scroll to Independence Square on February 4.

Duncan White proved that his performance at the London Olympics was not a flash in the pan when at the British Empire Games now known as the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand , in 1950 his noteworthy performance of 52.5 seconds not only won the Gold Medal , but also was just outside the world record for the event by a fifth of a second.

Subsequently the other three athletes too performed well for the country. Oscar Wijesinghe

represented Ceylon at the British Empire Games along with Duncan White. He, representing the University of Ceylon, established a Ceylon record in the 100 meters in 11.0 seconds. On a personal note, this writer too equaled the country record in the 100 meters.

Lakshman Kadirgamar a Public Schools athlete performed in national athletics too winning the 110 meters Hurdles event in 1951. At the All India – Ceylon Inter University Athletic meets he won his event. He was later one of the best foreign ministers we ever had. Sadly, he was assassinated by a terrorist gunman.

K.L.F.Wijedasa