U.D. Wickramanayake – An outstanding, versatile sportsman
UDW with his trophies
U.D. Wickramanayake, a charming, pleasant and majestic, outstanding senior officer who served the Sri Lanka Navy with distinction, took a transfer to the heavenly abode of Thusitha on October 22, 2013, leaving his beloved family, relatives, friends and well wishers in tears. Although the gentleman par excellence is no more, he lives in hearts forever.
Such great sportsmen or sportswomen are a rare breed.
Late U.D. Wickramanayake was an outstanding versatile sports personality, who excelled in number of sports disciplines. He excelled in athletics, rugby, football, boxing, hockey, cricket, volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, swimming and life saving etc.
I presume the versatility, he must have gained in sports disciplines, he accrued from his past samsaric journeys.
Wickramanayake`s forte was athletics. In early 1960s, in Asian Games Trials, he scored a “Brilliant Double” in 100m and 200m, edging out reputed sprinters like Lakshman de Alwis and Darrell Lieversz. While serving the Royal Navy, he secured the award for champion athlete for two consecutive years, in 1958 and 1959.
He was an outstanding member of the famous CT and FC athletic team. At Baticoloa in the 1960s, he recorded a marvelous time of 11.9 seconds in 100 yards. He continued his fantastic winning spree in Trincomalee with a new record and was adjudged the star athlete of the year in 1961.
In the first ever floodlit meet held in Sri Lanka in 1962, Wickramanayake outclassed some of the favourite star athletes and clinched the 400m handsomely.
In AAA`s Invitation Athletic Meet, in which reputed athletes from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania participated in Sri Lanka, Lakshman de Alwis and Wickramanayake did two grand laps for Ceylon/Sri Lanka in both 4x100m and 4x 440m relays in 1962, which can be considered as a very special year for Wickramanayake. He celebrated several jubilant victories in 100m, 200m and 400m in AAA Asian Games Trials, AAA Triangular Meet, Ceylonese Track and Field Club Championships, ACE AC Jubilee Meet, Baticaloa AAA Championships and Trincomalee AAA Championships, ACE Athletic Club Silver Jubilee Meet that year.
The bubbling, smart athlete, Wickramanayake emerged from Senior School Maharagama. He brought credit and honour to his “Alma Mater”. His natural speed was quite evident from his early school days when year after year he won the sprint events at his school sports meets. He was the champion athlete in Under-14, Under-16 and Under-19 and finally crowned his school career by winning both 100m and 200m in the first ever All-Ceylon Senior and Secondary Schools Championships.
After leaving school this marvelous sportsman Wickramanayake joined Royal Ceylon Navy as a Physical Instructor where he established two Navy records in both 100m and 200m. After a training course overseas, he represented Ceylon Services vs the Southern Command in Pune, India in November 1960, where he registered his best performance 100m in 11 seconds.
After leaving Navy he joined Ananda College, Colombo as a gymnastic instructor. He also coached Vidyalankara University athletes in Colombo. After brief stay at River Valleys Development Board, he had the fortune of joining University of Ceylon, Peradeniya as a Marshall where he met his life partner Malani, an undergraduate at that time. He became very popular with large number of followers at the university.
In closing of the album, I state that light of stars that were extinguished ages ago, still reach us. So it is with sportsmen and sportswomen who excelled are no more but still reach us with the radiation of their personalities. U.D. Wickramanayake was one of those rare ones.
“May he attain the noble bliss of nibbana – deathless state!”