Vijitha Wijeyesekera - an athlete with fine record

ATHLETICS: It is three months since Ovid Vijitha Wijeyesekera one of the finest products of Ananda College, passed away after a prolonged illness.

In 1957 Ananda College was looking for an athletic coach when my friend late Lukshman Dissanayake requested me to join the Ananda College tutorial staff and also coach the athletes of the College. I gladly accepted the offer. Lukshman then introduced Vijitha to me and mentioned that he was the Captain of Athletics of the College. That is how I met this extraordinary athlete.

No sooner had I met him immediately I noticed the keenness and enthusiasm of this young lad.

At Ananda, Vijitha had a brilliant athletic career becoming the champion athlete in the under 10, under 14, and under 16 at the Inter House Athletic Meets. In the under 19 age group he had to share the under 19 championship with other fine athletes in his first year with Oswald Rajapakse, in the second year with Nandasiri de Silva and in his final year with Rohan Daluwatte.

His records at Ananda include 15.2 in the 120 yds. Hurdles (1958) 177 ft 11 1/2 inches in the Javelin (1958) and the Pentathlon 3,106 (1958).

At the Junior AAA meet (1957) in the 110m Hurdles he returned a time of 15.9 thus lowering the record held by Trinity’s Lukshman Kadirgamar.

As a schoolboy he achieved his long cherished ambition, when in 1957 he became the National Champion in the 110 metres hurdles. In the same year at the Public Schools Meet he established a new record of 15.5s in the 120 yds Hurdles event erasing L.Kadirgamar’s previous record.

On the strength of his performances he was selected to represent Ceylon at the Triangular Meet held in Bangalore. Although he was placed third in the Hurdles event, he equalled the Ceylon record of 16.1 held by P.M. Modder.

Under his captaincy, Ananda tied for the runners-up position for the Tarbat Cup at the Public Schools Meet in 1957. The team made amends by winning the coveted Tarbat Cup in the following year.

Memorable meet

The 1958 Junior Meet was memorable for Vijitha. He on the first day improved on Oswald Rajapakse’s Pole Vault best achievement of 10 ft 11 inc to 11 ft 4 1/2 inc and set up a new best performance in the 110m hurdles.

At the Nationals, he set up a new Ceylon mark of 15.9s, erasing the record held by Paul Modder by two tenth of a second and equalling the All Comers record held by Rev. Bob Richards of USA. He was awarded the Wilton Bartleet Cup for his brilliant performance in the hurdles.

At the Public Schools meet, Vijitha, in spite of his illness helped Ananda to win the Tarbat Cup. As an 18-year-old, he was selected to represent Ceylon at the Malayan AAA Championships held in Kuala Lumpur. There he won the Pole Vault event with a commendable height of 12 feet and won the 110m Hurdles event.

Vijitha’s crowning glory in 1958 was that he was awarded the Barry Moore award for the Sports Star of the year.

He was the youngest athlete to win the contest and the fourth to win the prestigious award. He received this award from another Anandian Dr. N.M. Perera who was the chief guest at the ceremony.

The 1959 National Athletic Meet saw him reach the high watermark of his great achievements up to that time when he won the hurdles with a new All Comers record time of 15.7s which earned him the Wilton Bartleet Cup for the second year as well as the Duncan White Trophy for the best track event.

Interested in athletics

Vijitha even as a schoolboy was interested in athletics in Ceylon. He used to discuss with me the need for more athletic clubs for the country and also the promotion of athletics in the provinces. He pedalled on his bicycle to Lake House to persuade Mr. Carlton Seneviratne to form a new athletic club.

The end result was that in November 1958 the Ceylonese track and Field Club was formed. The club staged several dual meets in the outstations like Chilaw. Negombo, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Galle, Matara and Kalutara. At these meets, the Club was able to unearth young talents who later represented Ceylon in athletics.

Selected for Sandhurst

At the end of 1959, he was selected to go to Sandhurst as a cadet in the Army. There he recorded his personal best when he clocked 15.4s in the 110m Hurdles event in the Southern Counties Championships. He competed for Sandhurst against the French, Dutch and Belgian Military Academie held in Paris and won two gold medals in the 110m Hurdles and the Pole Vault event.

His first appearance on his return to Ceylon, he clipped off 5 seconds off the existing 110m Hurdles record held by E.M.D.M. Perera.

At the Jakarta 1962 Asian Games trials, he bettered the 23-year-old Pole Vault record held by A.C. Dep. He commenced his jumping at 11ft 6inc the next height was 12 feet and the next height was 12ft 8 inc. But in measuring the height was found to be 12ft 9inc.

He was very confident of jumping that height. He cleared it in his second attempt. It demonstrated his confidence and competitive spirit. On the strength of his performance he was selected to represent Ceylon at the Jakarta Asian Games.

He went on to improve his 110 m Hurdles record to 15 l in 1964. Always it was a treat to watch the dual between Vijitha and E.M.D.M. Perera for supremacy over the Hurdles at the National Championships. He won the National title for three consecutive years from 1962 and again in 1966.

Decathlon Champion

He was the National Decathlon Champion on two occasions and he held the record for the event, when he won the Decathlon for the second time, The Observer headline on the meet was “Army Lieutenant’s Feat”.

Vijitha after a 24 hour spell of unbroken duty at office from 8.30 am on Thursday to 8.30 a.m. on Friday, was out there at the Oval running, jumping and throwing. His dedication and commitment to the sport was that intense.

He was a founder member of the Sri Lanka Veterans’ Athletic Association. As a veteran athlete he won the Gold medal in the 110 meters Hurdles event at the Masters Games in Tokyo.

In 1969, he married Anoja Samarakkody, his boyhood fiancee. After leaving the Army he lived in England. There he qualified as an accountant.

During his stay in England, he did yeoman’s service to the London Buddhist Vihara. In 1980 as the Secretary of the London Buddhist Society with the assistance of Mr. Noel Wimalasena, our High Commissioner in UK at that time, raised funds to obtain the present premises.

When he was at the helm of the Ananda College Old Boys Association, London Branch, Vijitha was instrumental in persuading the London Branch to provide a substantial amount of funds towards the athletic equipment much needed by his Alma Mater.

Vijitha was a devoted husband. Vijitha and Anoja raised two beautiful daughters Samanthi and Ruwani. He doted on his children. Anoja and her extended family nursed and looked after him during his illness ungrudgingly with love and care. They were a close knit family. So much so that even with his disability he attended Samanthi’s wedding.

Wijitha was a kind, generous human being. He was a real “kalyanmithra” to all his associates. He always shared his knowledge with other athletes. He was an inspiration to the younger athletes. He had a solution to every problem. Anoja has lost a devoted husband and Samanthi and Ruwani a loving father. Personally I have lost an exemplary pupil and a sincere friend. May his journey through Samsara be short and happy. K.L.F. Wijedasa