COLOMBO, August 16 (ePRESS) – Fourteen-year-old Sakindu Pigera of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, underlined his supremacy in junior long-distance freestyle swimming by breaking all three Boys’ Under-15 national records in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events at the National Long Course Swimming Championship 2026, organised by the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) at the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool Complex in Colombo recently.
Pigera completed a remarkable clean sweep by winning gold medals in all three events, improving his own 400m record while also erasing long-standing marks in the 800m and 1500m freestyle.
The young swimmer, who trains with Rainbow Aquatics under legendary Sri Lankan Olympian Julian Bolling, first made his mark in the Boys’ Under-15 400m freestyle.
Pigera clocked 4 minutes 29.80 seconds, lowering his own junior national record of 4:30.36 which he had established at the Asian Age Group Championships 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand, in July this year.
His dominance was clear as he finished around 12 seconds ahead of his nearest rival to take the gold medal.
Pigera then produced another record-breaking swim in the 800m freestyle, touching the wall in 9:26.59.
That performance erased the previous junior national record of 9:31.20, set by fellow St. Joseph’s College swimmer Sasmitha Wattarantenna in 2024.
The teenager completed his record-breaking campaign in the 1500m freestyle, where he clocked 18:11.90.
His performance shattered one of the older records in the age group, bettering the previous mark of 18:22.53 set by Amjad Hasan in 2017.
The three performances highlighted Pigera’s growing strength in distance freestyle events and his ability to maintain a high level across the 400m, 800m and demanding 1500m races.
His progress in the 400m has been particularly impressive. Pigera first broke the junior national record when he clocked 4:30.36 at the Asian Age Group Championships in Thailand in July before returning home and lowering it further to 4:29.80.
Pigera’s three gold medals and three national records marked him out as one of its outstanding performers of this year’s junior nationals.
He had earlier been adjudged the 2026 National Age Group champion in the Boys’ Under-15 category, further strengthening his position as one of Sri Lanka’s promising young swimmers.
With three distance freestyle national records now against his name, Pigera’s performances signal a strong rise in Sri Lanka’s junior distance swimming and provide another major milestone for the St. Joseph’s College and Rainbow Aquatics youngster.
