2018 Oct 16
Participating in the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wasanthi came third place in the women’s 2000m Steeplechase. Winning the bronze medal with a time of 6 minutes, 33.06 seconds, this is also recorded to be a personal best for her and she brought home Sri Lanka’s first Youth Olympic Medal.
Wasanthi’s bronze medal is the first global medal for Sri Lanka since Susanthika Jayasinghe secured her Olympic victory in the year 2007.
Her commitment to progress and remaining calm under pressure is marked by her previous best time, recorded at 6 minutes, 35.20 seconds at the Asian Qualification round (U-20 Asian Junior Championship) in Thailand, where she was the proud recipient of a gold medal in 3000m Steeplechase.
She further participated in the second stage of the Olympic event- the 4km Cross Country run, and was placed at 17th. Medals were awarded solely based on overall performance in both stages.
A student at Kuliyapitiya Central College (and trained under Coach Janitha Jayasinghe), Wasanthi is a prime example of the remarkable potential of Lanka’s youth. Bestowing upon herself and her homeland a distinguished honor, may this impressive win help influence the others of her generation to reach their untapped potential and harness their time, commitment and hard work into providing results that will raise both themselves and Lanka to great heights.
