Reshika Udugampola

Last updated
Reshika Udugampola
Personal information
Full nameReshika Amali Udugampola
NationalityFlag of Sri Lanka.svg  SRI
Born (1993-11-13) November 13, 1993 (age 30)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
StrokesFreestyle

Reshika Amali Udugampola (born 13 November 1993) is a former Sri Lankan freestyle swimmer and sports administrator. [1] [2] She is also the current secretary of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka's Athletics Commission and also serves in the marketing sub-committee of the International Olympic Committee. [3] [4]

Contents

Biography

Reshika was born in Colombo, Western Province. She initially attended the Southlands Balika College in Galle as both of her parents were employed in Galle. She later switched to Gateway College, Colombo after her family moved from Galle to Colombo. [5]

Career

Reshika started swimming at the age of eight in 2003 in Galle. She pursued an interest in the sport of swimming similar to her sister. It was revealed that her sister was advised by the doctors to engage in swimming as a remedy to cure asthma. Since then, Reshika also joined swimming practices with her sister. [5]

She won her maiden national title in 2010 in the women's 100m freestyle at the National Swimming Championships and was coached by Manoj Abeysinghe who was influential in Reshika reaching Olympic standards. She competed in the women's 50 metre butterfly at the 2010 FINA World Swimming Championships. [6] She represented Sri Lanka at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships and she was the only female competitor at the competition from Sri Lanka. During the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, she competed in the women's 100 metre freestyle and in the 50m butterfly events. [7]

She represented Sri Lanka at the 2012 Summer Olympics which was also her first and only appearance at the Olympics representing Sri Lanka. [8] [9] During the 2012 London Olympics, she competed in the women's 100 metre freestyle, finishing in 44th place overall in the heats, failing to qualify for the semifinals. [10] [11] Prior to the Olympics, she traveled to Australia and had a special one year training at the Nunawadig Aquatic Club in Melbourne. [6]

After competing at the 2012 Olympics, she was appointed as the secretary of the NOCSL's Athletics Commission. She was nominated to the IOC's marketing committee from the South Asian region. [5] In October 2020, she was appointed to the International Olympic Committee's marketing sub-committee. [4] She is also currently a full time marketer attached to an international IT firm.

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References

  1. "Reshika UDUGAMPOLA". Olympics.com. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  2. "Reshika Udugampola Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". 2016-12-04. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  3. "Reshika co-opted IOC marketing sub-committee - Sports | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  4. 1 2 Fernando, Chandrika. "Reshika appointed to IOC top post". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  5. 1 2 3 "I became an athlete because of my sister – Reshika Udugampola". Sunday Observer. 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  6. 1 2 "Reshika on the road to London". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  7. "Matthew, Reshika set new Sri Lanka records". archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  8. "Sri Lanka Sports News | Sundayobserver.lk". archives.sundayobserver.lk. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  9. "Into the deep end | The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka" . Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  10. "Swimming at the 2012 London Summer Games: Women's 100 metres Freestyle | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". 2016-12-20. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  11. "Reshika Udugampola". London 2012. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.