ABEYSINGHE Matthew < Back  
Sport Swimming
CGA Sri Lanka   
Gender Men
Born 19 Mar 1996 in Hazleton, PA, USA
Height1.81 m
Human Interest
General Interest
Famous relatives His brothers Andrew, Kyle and Dillon have also represented Sri Lanka in swimming. Andrew won gold in both 100m and 200m breaststroke at the 2006 South Asian Games in Colombo, Sri Lanka, while Kyle competed at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and the world short course championships in 2016 and 2018. His father Manoj has served as his coach. His partner Kristen Romano represented Puerto Rico at the world championships and world short course championships in 2019. (SportsDeskOnline, 14 Apr 2022; ohiostatebuckeyes.com, 15 Dec 2021; dailynews.lk, 02 Jul 2010; dailysports.lk, 05 Jul 2016)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport? He was coached by his father.
Name of coach Manoj Abeysinghe [father], SRI
When and where did you begin this sport? He began swimming at age four.
General Interest
Other information FAMILY AFFAIR
His father and coach Manoj is the founder of Killer Whale Aquatics in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has trained and competed alongside his brothers from a young age. "It was a competition whatever we did, from seeing who could finish our milk at the dinner table to playing video games or football in the backyard. We moved to Sri Lanka when I was 14, and from then onwards, my father was my sole coach." (Newsfirst Sri Lanka YouTube channel, 12 Dec 2019; thepapare.com, 29 Mar 2018; killerwhales.lk, 01 Aug 2014)

MOVE TO SRI LANKA
He was born and raised in the United States of America, studying and training in Dayton, Ohio, until his family moved to Sri Lanka in 2010. (Newsfirst Sri Lanka YouTube channel, 12 Dec 2019; whio.com, 09 Aug 2016)
Further Personal Information
Residence United States
Languages English
Higher education Sports Psychology - Ohio State University: Columbus, OH, USA
General Interest
Injuries He dislocated his knee in late 2016 and suffered an injury to his finger in 2017, returning to competition in December 2017. (thepapare.com, 29 Mar 2018; thepapare.com, 03 Dec 2017; Instagram profile, 28 Dec 2016)
Awards and honours He won the Ada Derana Sportsman of the Year Award in 2016. (LinkedIn profile, 2017; Ada Derana YouTube channel, 25 Sep 2016)

He was named Sports Star of the Year and the Most Outstanding Sportsman of the Year for 2016 at the Sri Lankan Presidential Sports Awards in 2017. (sundaytimes.lk, 21 May 2017)
Further Personal Information
Occupation Athlete
General Interest
Memorable sporting achievement Qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and winning seven gold medals at both the 2016 and 2019 South Asian Games. (sundayobserver.lk, 11 Jul 2021)
Hobbies Surfing, listening to music, playing basketball, video games. (Newsfirst Sri Lanka YouTube channel, 12 Dec 2019)
Most influential person in career His father. (Newsfirst Sri Lanka YouTube channel, 12 Dec 2019)
Further Personal Information
Family Partner Kristen Romano