A family with a passion for sport The President’s family too has a passion for sport. President Rajapaksa has been a versatile athlete during his day and later played a prominent role as President of the national bodies for athletics and elle. As the President of the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) in 1997, the President played a key role to have star woman sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe exonerated of doping charges on medical evidence. The revival of Sri Lanka athletics, which ultimately gave Sri Lanka an Olympic medal after 52 years (in 2000 Sydney Games) began when President Rajapaksa was heading the local athletic governing body. He was one of the most popular sports administrators ever in Sri Lanka sports history, lending a helping hand to rural athletes to sharpen their skills. The First Lady, Madam Shiranthi Rajapaksa had served as a President of the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka. She made an immense contribution towards the promotion of netball, especially at the grassroots level. Their three sons - Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha, excelled in rugby football. All three went on to lead S.Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia. In fact, the three lads played in the same team – in the ‘pack’, for S.Thomas’ College 1st XV team in 2005, which could well be a record.. The eldest of the three, Namal Rajapaksa, the founder President of Tharunyata Hetak Youth Movement who is now a Member of the Parliament for Hambantota District, went on to captain Sri Lanka Under-19 team with distinction while his younger brothers too went on to represent Sri Lanka Youth team. His second son, Yoshitha, who joined the Sri Lanka Navy during the height of the LTTE terror to set an example, was instrumental in revival of rugby football. Navy Sports Club, which was then considered as wooden spoonists in Sri Lanka premier league rugby, made a significant progress under the dynamic leadership of Yoshitha Rajapaksa. Navy SC achieved many victories under Yoshitha’s leadership and even humbled defending champions Kandy Sports Club.