Allaam Ousman dives into the story of a Sri Lankan swimmer who is on the cusp of realising her dream

MAKING WAVES

Ganga Senavirathne previews her journey to the Olympics that began with splashing in the pool as a child – for fun!

In the world of competitive swimming, success is often measured not merely by medals but in the dedication, perseverance and passion of the athletes. One such athlete whose journey embodies these qualities is swimming star Ganga Senavirathne.

Like many aspiring swimmers, Ganga began her journey with innocent splashes and playful laps, inspired by the graceful strokes of her elder sister Thomali, a national breaststroke champion. And what started as a casual pastime soon evolved into a burning passion as she delved deeper into the sport of aquatics.

With each stroke, she propelled herself forward, driven by a desire to carve a niche in the sport.

She says:  “When I was around three or four years old, I started swimming, following my sister. That was just for fun. She was the one who swam first – she was the inspiration.”

“I began swimming competitively when I was around 10 years old. I think it was a relay in Sri Lanka schools,” Senavirathne recalls.

With a glint of pride, she recounts her maiden international appearance at the South Asian Aquatic Championships in 2016, in Colombo, when she won three silver medals in relay events: “I didn’t have any medals in individual events but won three silver medals in relays. Three silvers!”

Scoring the highest FINA points of 721 in the 100 metre backstroke in 2022 was her next major achievement, making her only the third Sri Lanka woman to achieve this feat. “That was at the trials for the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships,” she notes.

“When I began, it was for fun. But when I got better and better, I saw the potential I could reach. I had a goal to represent my country in international meets,” Senavirathne explains – she has been a member of the Sri Lankan swimming team since 2016.

“My first dream in 2019 was going to the Tokyo Olympics but somehow, things weren’t on my side,” she sighs, with a hint of frustration creeping in.

Senavirathne continues: “It was a political thing. To be able to qualify for the Olympics, you had to have competed at the previous world championships. But I couldn’t go to the previous world championships in 2019,” she says.

Instead of brooding however, she turned her attention to Paris. “I’ve switched my goal to participating in the Paris Olympics,” says the gangly 21-year-old athlete who is set to be one of two Sri Lankan swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

She also performed the ultimate balancing act with her studies and sports: “I wasn’t a smart student as such as I was more into sports. And I never missed practice because of exams or anything like that.” The best example of this was in 2019 when she was among six students who took the O-Level exam during the South Asian Games in Nepal.

When asked why she chose the backstroke event, Ganga explains: “First of all, I was never a backstroker. At the beginning, I was doing freestyle, butterfly events and everything else when I was small.”

“For a swimmer, it takes time to know what event you will specialise in. You have to try them and figure out what your best event could be – and talk to your coach and see what could be best for you,” says Senavirathne, who trained at Killer Whale Aquatics under coach Manoj Abeysinghe.

Ganga says: “I love swimming the 100 metre backstroke.” With a personal best of 1:04.08, she adds: “My goal is to break the national record of 1:02.40 held by Kimiko Raheem.”

Senavirathne will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sport coaching at the Hungarian University of Sports Science in Budapest, which she discusses with enthusiasm.

“At the moment, my focus is on participating in the Paris Olympics, then going abroad to study sports science and coaching. Thereafter, I’m planning on bringing back the knowledge that I could gain in Hungary,” she says.

And here’s her message to aspiring sports stars: “Never give up when you fail because you can’t hit your maximum potential in one go – it’s a process and you progress through years of training. Not winning at one Sri Lankan meet or an international meet doesn’t mean that your whole career is down.”

Humbly expressing her gratitude to her parents for their encouragement and support, Senavirathne sums up: “The ones who have been behind me have been my family. It’s simply them and no one else.”