Anna-Marie Ondaatje, Sri Lanka’s international rhythmic gymnast who is a part of the Quint Ondaatje foundation, has partnered with the Professional Sports Journalists Association of Sri Lanka (PSJASL) to give back to their community, by helping to provide funds for legendary marathon runner, Wimalasena Perera.
The quint Ondaatje foundation have decided to fund the required nutrition and rehab needs for the next 6 months.
As goals of the foundation, Anna Marie stated- “I am ambitious to focus on human rights, basic needs,(food, clothing and shelter), creating change in areas of health and safety, education, gender equality, foster, abuse, women, disaster response, refugee, sports development, arts, culture and heritage, rural transformation and urban renewal.”
When she was asked why she chose to be involved in this project, she said, “When I looked back at my Ondaatje family history, I learnt that many of my ancestors have contributed to my mother country in many different ways. This inspired me to follow in the humanitarian path, showing me how much of an impact I can make. By doing this I hope to make a difference. In order to really understand where you are going, you must understand where you are coming from.”
Anna-Marie Ondaatje is only 19, but her athletic legacy is already secure: as the first Rhythmic gymnast to represent Sri Lanka on the international stage, Ondaatje is already both pioneer and ambassador for her sport.
Who is Wimalasena Perera?
Perera is the 4th oldest Olympian residing in Sri Lanka after Sumith Liyanage, Ernest Fernando and Wimaladasa..
In 1964, at the age of 19, he got the chance to join the Army due to his achievements in athletics. The army played a big role in him representing Sri Lanka at the Olympics.
His first try at the Olympics was in 1964 where he placed 2nd in the selections couldn’t qualify to represent the country that year.
However, he trained hard and won the all-island marathon race in 1966 where he broke the national record established by Linz Dias, who represented Sri Lanka in the 1960 Olympics. Wimalasena owned this record for 25 years, till 1991.
His first international meet was the Commonwealth Games held in Jamaica in August 1966. A shoulder injury in the 11th mile of the marathon forced him to abandon the race. He took part in the 1500m, 5000m and the 10000m events too.
Later in the Singapore National Games held in 1967, he won 2 silver medals for the 5000m and the 10000m events. These performances along with winning the trials, helped him qualify for the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico.
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