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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His grandfather, Anton Ludewike, was a good swimmer and often took him to the beach to swim. |
General Interest | |
| Ambitions | To set up a sports academy in Sri Lanka and become the national swimming coach for his country. (swinburne.edu.au, 09 Jul 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He started swimming age eight. |
General Interest | |
| Other information | IAN THORPE OF SRI LANKA He spent six years [1996-2002] training and going to school in Australia. He trained with Nunawading Swimming Club and was dubbed 'the Ian Thorpe of Sri Lanka'.(nunawadingswimmingclub.com, 16 May 2004) COACHING He coached the Bishop College swimming team in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and earned the level 3 Silver Accreditation Coaching Qualification, which made him the country's most qualified coach, in 2009. But he still knows when it is time to be quiet and take direction from those instructing him: "When I am a swimmer, I don't talk much," he said. "I listen to my coach. Otherwise it will erupt into a world war if both of us talk at the same time. It's hard when you are a coach and you have another coach trying to teach you and you will inevitably have enough and more clashes because both of you know what the other wants to do. But both of us compromise and whatever my coach gives me, whether it is 100s, 200s, or 400s, I keep my mouth shut, and I don't talk much." (The Colombo Spirit, 13 Oct 2009) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, Statistics - Swinburne Institution of Technology: Melbourne, VIC, AUS |
| Residence | Sri Lanka |
General Interest | |
| Awards and honours | He won the JCI Outstanding Young Persons of Sri Lanka award in 2007. (swinburne.edu.au, 09 Jul 2010) He was inducted into the 2004 Board of Swinburne Olympians. (swinburne.edu.au, 09 Jul 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Training Regime | He trains 4-5 hours a day. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 1992 |
| Competing for | Sri Lanka |
| Location | Beijing |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Ian Thorpe of Sri Lanka. (nunawadingswimmingclub.com, 16 May 2004) |