| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Palitha Bandara Halgahawela Gedara |
| Born | 6 September 1992 Matale, Central Province, Sri Lanka |
| Sport | |
| Event(s) | shot put, discus throw |
Medal record | |
Palitha Bandara Halgahawela Gedara [1] (born 6 September 1992), also known as Palitha Bandara [2] or Palitha Halgahawela, [3] is a Sri Lankan para athlete who has specialized in discus throw and shot put. [4] [5] He is currently attached with Sri Lankan Army as an army corporal.
He faced a career threatening injury to his left knee when he played volleyball with Army in 2013. Some sources depict he met with an accident in 2011 and injured his left leg badly. He pursued his career in para sports especially in shot put F42 category the following year in 2014 ever since his muscle function was impaired above his left knee. [6]
He rose to prominence and limelight at the 2018 Army Para Games where he set two new meet records in both shot put and discus throw events with distances of 40.30 meters and 12.80 meters. He also claimed silver medal in javelin throw at 2018 Army Para Games and was also adjudged as the best para athlete of the competition. [2] He claimed silver medal in the men's shot put event at the 2018 Asian Para Games. He took part in men's shot put F63 event at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.
In February 2021, he cleared a distance of 13.42 meters at the World Para Grand Prix which earned him a guaranteed spot for the 2020 Summer Paralympics. [7] He claimed a bronze medal in men's shot put event at 2021 Fazza World Para Athletic Championship in Dubai. [8] He represented Sri Lanka at the 2020 Summer Paralympics and it also marked his maiden appearance at the Summer Paralympics. [9] He was one of the members of the nine member contingent to represent Sri Lanka at the Tokyo Paralympics. [10] [11] On 4 September 2021, he was placed at fifth position in men's shot put F63 final event during the 2020 Summer Paralympics after clearing a distance of 13.40 meters. [12]
He represented Sri Lanka at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and also marked his debut appearance at the Commonwealth Games. [13] He was also the only para athlete to represent Sri Lanka at Birmingham Commonwealth Games. He decided to take up discus throw since shot put was not part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games schedule and he pursued discus throw from December 2021 under the guidance of national coach Prabath Danushka Perera. [6]
He claimed silver medal in men's F42-44/61-64 discus throw final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games after clearing a distance of 44.20 meters garnering 944 points. [14] [15] [16] He became the first Sri Lankan to win a Para Sports medal for Sri Lanka in Commonwealth Games history. [17]
Eucharia Njideka Iyiazi is a Paralympian athlete from Nigeria competing mainly in category F57/58 shot put and discus throw events. She has competed at four paralympics taking two gold, a silver and two bronze medals.
Raoua Tlili is a Paralympian athlete from Tunisia competing mainly in category F41 shot put and discus events and is a multi gold medalist at the Paralympics.
Aled Siôn Davies is a Welsh Paralympian athlete competing mainly in category F42 throwing events. In 2012 he became the world record holder of the F42 shot put and in the 2012 Summer Paralympics he took the bronze medal in shot put and gold in the discus. In 2013 Davies took the World Championship gold in both the shot put and discus in Lyon. He won double gold in his home country at the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships in the shot put and discus. This followed his silver medal in the F42-44 discus from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where he represented Wales. Davies also took part in the Channel 4 TV series Celebrity SAS: Who dares wins
Kyron Duke is a powerlifter and Paralympian track and field athlete from Wales, UK competing in category F41 throwing events. Duke has represented Wales in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in powerlifting. In 2012 he qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in javelin and shot put.
Daniel West is a British Paralympian track and field athlete competing mainly in category F34 throwing events. He has represented Great Britain in four Paralympic Games and has qualified for the team for a fifth time at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. West has two bronze Paralympic medals and one silver, all in the shot put, and has medalled in the IPC World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
Deepa Malik is an Indian athlete. She started her career at the age of 30. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games and won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put. She also won gold in the F-53/54 Javelin event at the para athletic Grand Prix held in Dubai in 2018. She is currently the world number one in the F-53 category. She has won accolades for her participation in various adventure sports. She is associated with Himalayan Motorsports Association (H.M.A.) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (F.M.S.C.I.). She has undertaken an 8-day, 1,700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18,000 feet (5,500 m). It was – Raid De Himalaya. This journey covers many difficult paths including remote Himalayas, Leh, Shimla and Jammu.
Guy Nicholas Henly is an Australian Paralympic athlete. He currently competes in discus and shot put and has won medals at the 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 World Para Athletics Championships and 2023 World Para Athletics Championships. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Herath Mudiyansalage Dinesh Priyantha, also simply known as Dinesh Priyantha, is a Sri Lankan Paralympic track and field athlete who competes in javelin T46 events. He also served as an important member for the Sri Lanka Army during the Sri Lankan Civil War. He was disabled after being shot at his left arm during the final stages of the war. He is the defending Paralympic champion in men's javelin throw F46 category. On 30 August 2021, he became the first ever Sri Lankan to win a gold medal at the Paralympics when he won the men's javelin throw F46 category. He is the current Paralympic and World record holder in men's javelin throw for F46 category.
Sarah Edmiston is an Australian Paralympic athlete who specialises in the discus and shot put. At her first major international competition, she won the bronze medal in the Women's Discus F44 at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships and followed this up with a silver medal in the same event at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. She also won the bronze medal in the Women's Discus F64 at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Sri Lanka took part in the 2018 Asian Para Games which was held in Jakarta from 6 to 13 October 2018, sent a delegation consisting of 30 para-athletes in 9 different sporting events. The 2016 Rio Paralympic medalist Dinesh Priyantha Herath was the skipper and the flagbearer for the contingent. Sri Lanka secured 5 medals on the opening day of the Asian Para Games.
Lucyna Kornobys is a Polish Paralympic athlete competing in discus throw, javelin throw and shot put events. She represented Poland at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and she won the silver medal in the women's shot put F34 event. She also won the silver medal in the women's shot put F34 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Oney Tapia is a visually impaired Italian-Cuban Paralympic athlete competing in discus throw and shot put events. He represented Italy at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and he won the silver medal in the men's discus throw F11 event. He represented Italy at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the discus throw and shot put events, winning two bronze medals.
Renata Śliwińska is a Polish Paralympic athlete competing in F40-classification discus throw and shot put events. She won the gold medal in the women's shot put F40 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan. In this event, she is also a two-time gold medalist at the World Para Athletics European Championships and a three-time medalist, including gold, at the World Para Athletics Championships.
Akeem Stewart is a Trinidad and Tobago Paralympic athlete competing in F43/F44-classification discus throw, javelin throw and shot put events.
Sajad Mohammadian is an Iranian Paralympic athlete.
K. Y. Venkatesh is an Indian para-athlete and shot putter from Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. He won his first gold for India in the shot put in 1999 in Australia. In 1994, he represented India at the 1st International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Berlin, Germany. He was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021.
Tom Habscheid is a Paralympic athlete from Luxembourg. He is a two-time silver medalist at the World Para Athletics Championships and a six-time medalist at the World Para Athletics European Championships.
Mahesh Priyamal Jayakody, also known as Mahesh Jayakodi or Priyamal Jayakodi, is a Sri Lankan a para-rower and a soldier. He made his debut Paralympic appearance representing Sri Lanka at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. He is the first Sri Lankan rower to compete at the Paralympics.
Mahdi Olad is an Iranian Paralympic athlete specializing in shot put. He represented Iran at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Sri Lanka competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England from 28 July to 8 August 2022. This was Sri Lanka's 17th appearance at the Commonwealth Games.
Palitha Bandara Halgahawela Gedara known as Palitha Halgahawela is a Corporal in the Sri Lanka Army. Born on September 6, 1992 in Matale he rose to fame as a Sri Lankan para athlete.
