Nadeesha Ramanayake

Last updated

Nadeesha Ramanayake
Nadeesha Ramanayaka.jpg
Personal information
NationalitySri Lankan
BornNadeesha Ramanayaka
(1994-12-25) 25 December 1994 (age 30)
Sri Lanka
Sport
CountrySri Lanka
SportAthletics
Event 400 metres
Achievements and titles
National finalsSix time National Champion (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025)
Personal best200m - 24.06sec 400m - 52.61sec
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka
Asian Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Hangzhou 4 × 400 m relay
Asian Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Bangkok 400 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2023 Bangkok 4×400 m relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2023 Bangkok 4×400 m mixed
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2025 Gumi 4×400 m relay
Updated on September 2025

Nadeesha Ramanayake (born 25 December 1994) is a Sri Lankan track and field athlete who competes mainly in the 400 metres sprint. She won gold medal at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships held in Bangkok in the 400m women's event. [1] She is a member of the Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps [2] and Surving as a Staff Sargent.

Contents

Career

In the 2011 Junior National Championships, Ramanayake made her debut at national level by representing Rajapaksa Central and finished sixth in the Under 18 girls’ 3,000 metres. Later, she started running the 800 metres and won a medal at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships. [3] For many years, she was second-fiddle to both her seniors and contemporaries before cementing her position in the 400 metre sprint event. At the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships, Ramanayake competed in the women's 4x400-meter race that broke the national record. She qualified for the 2023 Asian Championship and surpassed Menaka Wickramasinghe to become the third fastest woman in Sri Lankan history in the 400m. [4] At the 400 meter event, she finished the race with a timing of 52.61 seconds and won gold in Thailand at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023. Ramanayake also became the eighth Sri Lankan to win an Asian Championships individual gold medal. [5] She was also a member of the 4x400m women's relay silver medal-winning team and a prominent member of the 4x400m mixed relay silver medal-winning team at the same championship.

At the 47th Sri Lankan National Sports Games held in August 2023, she won gold for both 200m and 400m and also bagged the best women athlete award. [6]

Career Highlights

Nadeesha Ramanayaka began her international career in middle-distance running, winning a silver medal in the 800 metres at the 2013 South Asian Junior Athletics Championship in Ranchi, India. She later transitioned to the 400 metres, where she achieved greater success.

In 2017, Ramanayaka secured the gold medal in the 800 metres at the Brunei Open Athletics Championship. The following year, she switched her primary focus to the 400 metres and went on to win the gold medal at the Thailand Open Athletics Championship (2018).

Her international breakthrough came in 2019, when she earned silver and bronze medals in the Asian Grand Prix series. At the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, she finished 6th in the 400 metres and contributed to Sri Lanka’s 4th-place finish in the 4×400 metres relay, setting a new national record. Later that year, she also competed at the 7th CISM Military World Games in Wuhan, China, placing 7th in the 400 metres.

Ramanayaka’s career peaked in 2023, when she won the gold medal in the 400 metres at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok. At the same championships, she also helped secure silver medals in both the women’s 4×400 metres relay and the mixed 4×400 metres relay, with both teams setting national records. Later that year, at the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, she was part of the Sri Lankan team that won the bronze medal in the 4×400 metres relay (national record). She also placed 5th in the individual 400 metres and initially finished 2nd in the 4×400 metres mixed relay before the team was disqualified.

In 2024, Ramanayaka continued her strong performances, winning the silver medal in the 400 metres at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix and another silver medal in the 4×400 metres mixed relay at the Asian Relay Championships in Bangkok. She also recorded consistent top-five finishes in the 400 metres at international meets in Taipei and Osaka.

Her consistency at the elite level continued in 2025, when she won a bronze medal in the 4×400 metres relay at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. She also represented Sri Lanka at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, competing in both the women’s and mixed 4×400 metres relays, and at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, where the team placed 5th in the 4×400 metres relay.

Nadeesha Ramanayaka has also qualified to take part in the Tokyo World Athletics Championships 2025, scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan, from 13 to 20 September 2025.

International honors

YearCompetitionVenueEventResult
2025Asian Athletics ChampionshipsGumi Civic Stadium, Gumi4×400 m relayBronze
2025Asian Athletics ChampionshipsGumi Civic Stadium, Gumi400 m7th
2025World Athletics RelaysTianhe Sports Center, Guangzhou4×400 m relay7th
2025World Athletics RelaysTianhe Sports Center, Guangzhou4×400 m mixed relayDNF
2025World Athletics Indoor ChampionshipsSports Training Center, Nanjing (i)4×400 m relay5th
2024Taiwan Athletics OpenTaipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei City400 m4th
2024Asian Relay ChampionshipsBangkok, Thailand4×400 m relay4th
2024Asian Relay ChampionshipsBangkok, Thailand4×400 m mixed relaySilver
2024Kinami Michitaka Memorial Athletics MeetYanmar Stadium Nagai, Osaka400 m4th
2024UAE Athletics Grand PrixUnited Arab Emirates400 mSilver
2023Asian Games (2022 edition)Hangzhou, China4×400 m relayBronze (NR)
2023Asian Games (2022 edition)Hangzhou, China400 m5th (heats: 52.67s)
2023Asian Games (2022 edition)Hangzhou, China4×400 m mixed relayDQ (2nd before DQ)
2023Asian Athletics ChampionshipsBangkok, Thailand400 mGold
2023Asian Athletics ChampionshipsBangkok, Thailand4×400 m relaySilver (NR)
2023Asian Athletics ChampionshipsBangkok, Thailand4×400 m mixed relaySilver (NR)
2019Asian Grand Prix 1China400 mSilver
2019Asian Grand Prix 2China400 mBronze
2019Asian Athletics ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar400 m6th
2019Asian Athletics ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar4×400 m relay4th (NR)
2019CISM Military World GamesWuhan, China400 m7th
2018Thailand Open Athletics ChampionshipThailand400 mGold
2017Brunei Open Athletics ChampionshipBrunei800 mGold
2013South Asian Junior Athletics ChampionshipRanchi, India800 mSilver

National Honors

National titles and honors

YearCompetitionEventResult
2025National Sports Festival400 mSilver
2025National Athletics Championships400 mGold
2024National Sports Festival400 mSilver
2024National Athletics Championships400 mGold
2023National Sports Festival400 mGold
2023National Sports Festival200 mGold
2023National Sports Festival4×400 m relayGold
2021National Athletics Championships400 mGold
2020National Athletics Championships400 mGold
2019National Athletics Championships400 mGold
2018National Athletics Championships400 mGold
2018National Athletics Championships200 mSilver
2018National Sports Festival400 mGold
2017National Athletics Championships400 mSilver
2017National Athletics Championships800 mBronze
2017National Sports Festival400 mGold


References

  1. "Ramanayake wins gold after 23 years in 400m at the Asian Athletic Championship - Breaking News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  2. "SL Army Athletics Tourney, a grand success". themorning.lk. 11 April 2024.
  3. Walpola, Thilina (14 July 2023). "Nadeesha rises from Junior National 6th place to clinch Asian title" . Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  4. Weerasooriya, Sahan (27 April 2023). "Nadeesha overtakes Menaka with third fastest time in SL history" . Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  5. RealPOS (13 July 2023). "A gold medal for Sri Lanka from Nadeesha Ramanayake". sportssrilanka.com. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  6. damith (27 August 2023). "Nadeesha and Dharshana Best Athletes at NSG". DailyNews. Retrieved 29 August 2023.