Ex Olympic runner Wimalasena Perera has an unforgettable memory but for a marathon he cannot remember finishing in Mexico and slams “insecure office bearers” for blocking former athletes entering administration:
One of the greatest long distance runners Sri Lanka has ever produced, Wimalasena Perera, believes past Olympians such as Sriyani Kulawansa and Damayanthi Darsha should have a bigger role to play if athletics is to regain its past glory.
Lamenting the fact that in most sports associations there is no one who has played the sport at the highest level, Wimalasena urged Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa to redress this imbalance.
“It is a shame that Darsha managed to get elected as a vice president of Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) with great difficulty. She is a legend in the sport and her record in the Asian Games has stood for more than 20 years. For athletics we need these Olympians. All associations have to do something about this,” said Wimalasena Perera who represented Sri Lanka at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
He lambasted those in power for preventing past national athletes from entering office for fear of losing their positions.
“We must bring Olympians to govern athletics not just because of their experience but because they are the pride of the nation. Those who are in power are scared they will lose their positions because they have not played sport,” said Wimalasena who recalled with pride the thunderous applause received when Darsha’s Asian Games record was announced at the beginning of the 400 metre women’s final in Jakarta. “I felt proud as a Sri Lankan for the respect she receives as Asia’s top athlete whereas in Sri Lanka she has to go behind seeking votes to get elected into Sri Lanka Athletics.”
He wants to see the younger generation of Olympians taking over the baton from people who are clinging onto positions in sports associations, lauding the efforts of former national sprinter Ineka Cooray for doing her bit to promote athletes independently.
The fourth oldest living Olympian residing in Sri Lanka - the others being Sumith Liyanage, Ernest Fernando and W. Wimaladasa – Wimalasena Perera celebrated his 76th birthday on May 30. He is still sprightly exercising daily by walking for three kilometres despite undergoing two heart surgeries since 2017 and is mentally alert having an elephantine memory.
He reels off timings and places of his achievements during an eventful career from 1962 to 1973 during which he represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympics and other international meets apart from competing in 300 events locally.
“Even my doctor told me I have a good memory. It is because I gain satisfaction by looking at old newspaper articles, watching Youtube videos of past Olympics and I keep track of what is happening in the athletics world,” said Wimalasena who is chairman of the national athletic selection committee.
Acknowledging that participation in the Olympics is the biggest dream of athletes, he noted with a tinge of regret that Sri Lanka had not been able to excel at the Asian Games in the recent past.
“When you win a national title, your dream should be the Olympics. Participation in the Olympics is a great thing but you can’t aim to win a medal by doing well at the SAF (South Asian) Games. If we can’t win at Asian Games, it is tougher to win at world competitions,” said Wimalasena.
Rupasinghe Arachchige Wimalasena Perera carved a niche for himself in Olympic folklore when he ran the marathon in a rarefied atmosphere of Mexico City in 1968 after being administered 36 pain killing injections.
“I felt sick because it was cold in Mexico. I also had sinus problems and a leg injury as well. I was in hospital morning and evening. Also, I had to train indoors because we couldn’t go out since there were protests outside,” recalled Wimalasena.
But the most unforgettable memory in his career was the race he could not remember finishing at the Mexico Olympics where he was placed 51st among 87 starters.
“I remember entering the stadium for the final lap and hearing the crowd cheering but I don’t remember how I completed the race. I only remember waking up in the hospital,” recalled Wimalasena who regained consciousness later in the night after suffering from sheer exhaustion.
In Mexico, which is 2250m above sea level, Wimalasena experienced difficulties in breathing. The doctors recommended ailing Wimalasena to give up the event, but he battled on even when the 1960 and 1964 Olympic champions decided to abandon the race due to the difficult weather conditions.
“I had 36 injections before the event. It was a 3pm start. My time was 2:59. If I ran like I did in Sri Lanka, I could have been in the top 10 but I was sick, had no proper training and no coach, only the encouragement of the Army,” recalled Wimalasena who trained for two weeks in Diyatalawa and two weeks in Nuwara Eliya before going to Mexico.
The eldest in a middle-class family of three from Waragoda, Kelaniya, Wimalasena always had to fend for himself displaying steely determination to run alone all his life from his school days and even at international competitions.
“There were no facilities for us like nowadays. I never had a coach while training. If somebody was there to help us it would have been useful,” recalled Wimalasena who displayed an aptitude for long distance running from a young age.
“From my small days I loved endurance running. I was self-taught because there was no teacher in charge or coach for athletics in school,” said Wimalasena who had his early education at Wedamulla Maha Vidyalaya, Kelaniya and secondary education at Sri Dharmaloka Maha Vidyalaya.
A good football and volleyball player, his destiny was as a middle and long distance athlete.
Wimalasena, won the 1,500 metres at the Western Province Schools Sports Meet held in 1962 at the Royal College ground. In 1962, he came seventh in the marathon conducted by the Ceylon Track and Field Club as a 17-year-old schoolboy.
In 1963, at the Junior Athletics Championships he set a record of 4:12.7 in the 1,500m.
He joined the Army in 1964 because of his exceptional athletic ability. The Army was instrumental in him representing the country at the Olympics, coming under the wing of Colonel P. D. Ramanayake being attached to the Engineers Regiment. He became the Army champion defeating the National champion RJK Karunananda, who participated in the 1964 Olympics.
In the same year, he participated in the 10,000 metres event at the National Championships and won it in 32.0 minutes.
Wimalasena shattered the existing Ceylon marathon record of two hours and 33 minutes established by Linus Dias by clocking 2:27.17 at the trials for the Asian Games in 1966. His record stood for 25 years.
At the Bangkok Asian Games he came seventh in the marathon while in the Commonwealth Games in Jamaica, he had to retire due to a shoulder injury.
“I went to Jamaica straight into the competition without any training. After 11 kms I had to withdraw because of shoulder pain. At the Bangkok Games, I didn’t know the marathon would start at 2pm. Those days there were no managers or coaches. They (SLA) selected and we go,” he said.
In 1967, he renewed his marathon record clocking 2:22.5. He won silver medals in the Open 3,000m and the 10,000m events in Singapore.
Wimalasena also came fourth at the international marathon held in Hong Kong in 1969.
In 1973 he was forced to hang up his spikes due to an injury to his left heel which required surgery after years of burning the track. He owes a debt of gratitude to the Army who encouraged him to pursue his athletics career while serving in the Engineers Regiment before retiring as Regimental Sergeant Major. He also thanked NOC secretary general Maxwell de Silva for giving him the opportunity to be there at the Guwahati SAF Games (2017), Asian Games (2018) and Kathmandu SAF Games (2019) in his capacity as chief athletic selector.
A distinguished old boy of Dharmaloka which named a building in his honour to mark their 75th anniversary and a devoted social service worker in his hometown, Wimalasena has performed yeoman service as a selector in an honorary capacity.
Wimalasena is only one of two Sri Lankans who have been conferred the 'Kreeda Rathna' title, the other being Julian Bolling.