November 09, Colombo (LNW): The opening day of the 30th Inter-International Schools Swimming Championship 2025 got off to an electrifying start at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool Complex on Saturday (08), with several long-standing records rewritten in a remarkable display of young talent.
Leading the charge was 15-year-old Jayden de Silva of Stafford International School, who stunned spectators by breaking a decade-old record in the Boys’ Under-16 100m backstroke.
The national squad swimmer clocked an impressive 1:04.25 to secure gold, surpassing the previous mark of 1:05.84 set by Vihanga Perera of Gateway College in 2015.
De Silva’s teammate, Shaqib Riyaj, kept Stafford’s winning momentum alive by storming to victory in the Boys’ Under-20 50m breaststroke. Riyaj set a new meet record of 30.87 seconds, improving on the 31.36-second benchmark held by Wycherley International’s Vinul Senanayake from last year.
Gateway College’s rising star Hashel Senarath made waves in the Boys’ Under-14 division, rewriting two meet records within hours. He clinched the 200m individual medley title with a time of 2:30.88—breaking a record unchallenged for seven years—before powering through the 50m butterfly in 28.38 seconds to erase a nine-year-old mark.
Not to be outdone, Okitha Gunasekara of Elizabeth Moir School smashed the Boys’ Under-20 200m individual medley record with a commanding swim of 2:14.78, while Lyceum Ratnapura’s Ometh Pathirana claimed the Boys’ Under-10 100m freestyle crown in 1:15.38, shaving precious milliseconds off the previous record.
Lyceum Ratnapura’s Visakya Dias also made her presence felt, breaking two Under-12 records—one in the 100m freestyle with a time of 1:08.90 and another in the 50m breaststroke with 39.04. Lyceum Panadura’s Sandini Nihinsa added to the excitement by setting a new Girls’ Under-10 100m freestyle record of 1:20.75, while Sasha Rajapakse of The British School powered to gold in the Girls’ Under-16 100m freestyle, rewriting the record books with a brilliant 1:02.01.
The day closed with cheers echoing across the pool complex, setting the stage for what promises to be an unforgettable weekend of fierce competition and record-breaking performances.
