OTOPENI, Romania, August 22, 2025 (ePRESS) – Sri Lanka’s emerging MF Muhammad delivered a landmark swim at the World Aquatic Junior Swimming Championships in Romania, shattering the men’s 200m breaststroke national record with a brilliant performance on the fourth day of the competition in Romania.
The 17-year-old, regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the sports, clocked 2 minutes 22.41 seconds, slashing 4.57 seconds off the old mark of 2:26.98 held by Aasif Imran. That record had only been set at the recently concluded 49th National Swimming Championships in Colombo, underlining the rapid progress of Sri Lanka’s young swimmers.
Muhammad’s swim was also a personal best, improving from his previous timing of 2:27.00. His effort placed him 32nd in the world rankings out of 60 swimmers, making him the best South Asian competitor in the event.
Imran too was in action in Romania, finishing with 2:27.58 to secure the 39th spot, but it was Muhammad’s performance that lit up the Sri Lankan camp.
Meanwhile, the youngest member of the team, Julie Hope, showed consistency by registering her third personal best at these championships. She clocked 32.12 seconds in the women’s 50m backstroke heats, narrowly bettering her previous best of 32.19. Her effort placed her 63rd among 90 swimmers.
Adding to the positive results, Jayden de Silva turned in a fine performance in the men’s 50m butterfly, recording 27.13 seconds to lower his personal best of 27.20. In the same event, Yasith Wijesundara produced the fastest Sri Lankan timing of the day with 26.99 seconds, though it was not his career-best mark.
“We have had four great days of swimming with loads of PBs and a national record broken,” said team leader Dr. Ghefari Dulapandan, himself a former World Championship swimmer. “We look forward to finishing off the next two days on a high as well.”
