Sports

Remembering the country’s first Olympic medallist Duncan White

Published

5 years ago

2021/07/3

Sahan Weerasooriya

Duncan White preparing the starting blocks.

BARRIER BREAKERS

During this Olympic year it is pertinent to remember one of country’s greatest athletes Major Duncan White on his 23rd death anniversary (July 3). On his way to success, he had to glide over 10 barriers and not break them!

Duncan White was born on the 1st of March 1918 at Lathpandura a rural village 2km from Baduraliya in the Kalutara District

His early education was at Trinity College Kandy. He was the captain of athletics in 1936 when Trinity College won the John Tarbat Challenge cup and the Jefferson cup for the Relays. White won the 220yds establishing a new record, 120yds Hurdles and the Long Jump. He was a member of the Trinity Rugger team which won the Bradby trophy. He was awarded the Trinity Lion for Athletics

On leaving Trinity College, he joined the Medical Department as a Physical Training Instructor and represented the Department at the Government Services Meet. In 1937 he participated in the National Championships representing Ace Athletic Club he returned a time of 52.0 secs in September and further improved it to 50.4secs the same year. Running in the 440 yds Hurdles event he clocked 56.4 secs. In 1940 he returned a time of 56.0 secs in the 440yds Hurdle event at the National Championships. It took 20 long years to improve the record till Nimal Fernando of the CT & FC returned a time of 55.7 secs. In 1944 running for the Ceylon Army Duncan clocked 22.2 secs for the 200m, which was equalled by W. Wimaladasa of the Army in 1964. D.K Podimahathmaya had the privilege of erasing Duncan’s record of 22.2 by .1 of a second after 24 years.

In 1938 he represented Ceylon at the British Empire Games held in Sydney in 1938. He was the only schoolboy in the team. He represented Ceylon at the first Indo-Ceylon dual meet held in Colombo in 1940 and at the second Indo-Ceylon Meet held in Bangalore. At the first Indo-Ceylon Meet he won gold medals in the 400m and 400m Hurdles events and helped win the two relays. In Bangalore he won a gold medal in the 400m hurdles and won a silver in the 110m hurdles.

After breaking records in the National arena he turned to the wider International arena. He was a member of the first Ceylon team to an Olympic Games. That was the 1948 London Olympic Games. There was a special significance for Ceylon as it was in the year 1948 that we gained Independence from the British Empire. Duncan White won the silver medal beaten by Roy Cochran of USA by only 7/10th of a second. While Cochran established an Olympic Games Record, Duncan White too bettered the previous record.

On the strength of his performance at the Olympic Games he was awarded a Government Scholarship to follow a course in Physical Education at the prestigious Loughborough College of Physical Education. At Loughborough, he Captained the College for three consecutive years. During his period the College won the British University Athletics Championships.

At the 1950 British Empire Games held in Auckland, New Zealand Duncan White won the gold medal in the 440yds hurdles event with a new British Empire Games Record which was only 3/5th of a second outside the World record.

On completing his studies at Loughborough College he returned to Ceylon in 1951, took up the post of a lecturer at the Training College Maharagama. In 1960 he took up the post of Athletic coach for the schools of the Department of Education with the approval of the then Minister of Education E.A. Nugawela.

He did yeoman’s service to the young athletes of the schools, especially the Central Schools. R.A.C. Hubert of Piliyandala Madya Maha Vidyalaya was one such athlete who did well in the 400m. I am personally aware that he had gone to Gamini Vidyalaya Benthota on three occasions. He also had helped Harris Manikkam at the Christian College Kotte athletic camps. There he had screened his final run in the 400m Hurdles at the 1948 London Olympics. C.W. Pitigala as a sharp student at that time had asked Duncan why he had looked back while fixing the blocks. He had commented on his observant nature and answered. “when I was nailing my starting blocks someone had shouted “Hey Ceylon you are late” So he had turn back and said “shut up” and nailed his blocks. While nailing the blocks he injured his finger. He ignored the injury and concentrated on the event. And the rest was history. It is a good lesson for our young athletes not to get ruffled for the slightest thing at the start of an event.

In 1964, he left for Nigeria to take up the post of Senior Lecturer in Athletics at the University of Ibadu. Later he settled down in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Duncan White was awarded the Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1949 and the Helms World Trophy as the Most Outstanding Athlete in Asia.

Duncan White married Angela Siebel and they had six children Nita, Marilene, Fiona, Daniel, Maxine and Christopher.

His teammates to the British Empire Games held in Auckland New Zealand said that when Duncan White ran the last lap for Sri Lanka in the 4x400m Relay the whole stadium stood up and cheered him because it was a fantastic run. He had overtaken several runners and came fourth. Several officials had asked him why he had not entered for the 400m event.

Late Cyril Gardiner, the then chairman of the prestigious Galle Face Hotel, as a mark of respect to Duncan White adorned his name on a plaque at the entrance to the Galle Face Hotel as a distinguished guest of the Hotel. It was at this Hotel that I had the privilege of meeting the great man on his last visit to Sri Lanka.

In 1991 Major-General Denzil Kobbekaduwa had organized a Peace Relay Run from Vavuniya to Colombo to celebrate the founding of the Duncan White Foundation. When the runners who came to Kurunegala were given T shirts with the Duncan White Logo embossed. One runner while putting on the T shirt had asked another “kawdayako Duncan kiyanne.”

In 1996 the late Luxman Kadirigamar initiated and obtained dual citizenship for Duncan White.

Duncan White was conferred the honour of ‘Deshamanya’ by President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunga, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Silver Medal feat at the London Olympic Games.

K.L.F. Wijedasa

(The writer is a former national record holder of the men’s 100 metres)

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Latest News

Sri Lanka Cricket Draft Bill to be gazetted

Published

6 hours ago

2026/09/23

Priyan

Approval has been granted at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 08.06.2026 to prepare a draft bill for restructuring Sri Lanka Cricket.

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Latest News

Will Jacks five-for seals comfortable England defence of 265

Published

8 hours ago

2026/09/23

Priyan

Will Jacks dismissed Kusal Mendis on the way to a five-wicket haul [Cricinfo]

England are finally on the rise again in ODIs, after a long period of stagnation and decline. They pulled off their lowest successful defence in four years as they cruised past Sri Lanka at the Riverside in Durham, and have now won five matches out of seven since the start of this year under Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum.

The first ODI was more competitive than any of the three T20Is last week, as England wobbled against Sri Lanka’s debutant legspinner Sachindu Colombage in the middle overs. They failed to hit a six on a two-paced, end-of-season surface, and Brook – who threw his head back in frustration when he carved to deep point – was the only batter to find any real fluency.

But Sri Lanka’s run chase never got going. Captain Kusal Mendis made 42 on his return from a hamstring injury and Dunith Wellalage landed a few late blows, but their middle order went missing against Jamie Overton’s cross-seamers and Will Jack’s offbreaks. This was an unglamorous and forgettable win, but England have not had enough of those in recent years.

Jacks took three wickets in four balls to finish things off, giving him outstanding figures of 5 for 22 – the second best in an ODI by an England spinner. It meant that Adil Rashid, ruled out of the series with a hand injury, was hardly missed, and completed an impressive all-round performance by Jacks after he cracked 46 not out to drag England to 265.

England’s ODI results have tailed off sharply since they won their first World Cup under Eoin Morgan’s captaincy, with 50-over cricket slipping to the bottom of the ECB’s list of priorities. Across the six years after their 2019 triumph, they won 33 and lost 40 in ODIs and suffered humiliating group-stage exits in both the 2023 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

They started 2026 ranked eighth in the world by the ICC, and with players and management anxious to secure automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup, but things have started to click for them. They have come from behind to win series against Sri Lanka (away) and India (home) this year, and will now target wins at Headingley and The Oval to seal a whitewash.

It has been a turbulent summer for McCullum, who lost his job as Test coach after England’s chaotic, self-sabotaging series defeat to New Zealand. But his partnership with Brook has been a revelation: England’s white-ball teams have won 10 completed games out of 11 this summer, and are finally starting to develop a clear identity.

Brook cited strike rotation and playing longer innings as two areas for England’s batters to improve before this series, and their new mentor Kevin Pietersen led a “spin masterclass” at Monday morning’s training session. They showed in this match that there is still plenty of scope to get better, stumbling against Colombage as they lost 4 for 29 in 7.5 overs through the middle.

A legspinner with an idiosyncratic action, Colombage spent last summer playing club cricket for Downham Stow in the East Anglian Premier League, but won his call-up after impressing in the recent Lanka Premier League. He was picked ahead of Wanindu Hasaranga in Chester-le-Street and made Joe Root his first victim in taking 3 for 44 on international debut.

England lost Tom Banton early to an Asitha Fernando outswinger – which trimmed the off bail – after choosing to bat, but Root started brightly. He pinged two early cover drives for four to take England to 64 for 1 after the initial powerplay, before they lost Ben Duckett lbw as he tried to sweep Wellalage’s left-arm spin.

Root had an early scare when he survived an lbw review off Colombage’s third ball, but was busy with Brook through the middle overs. They scampered between the wickets, though perhaps slightly too enthusiastically: Brook very nearly ran Root out on 42 with an optimistic single, though Colombage did for him an over later, finding just enough turn to beat the bat.

It ended a 404-run, five-innings stretch between dismissals for Root in ODIs, and when Brook miscued a charging slap to deep point off Dusmantha Chameera, it set a wobble in motion: Buttler was lbw to Colombage, Charith Asalanka’s direct hit did for Rehan Ahmed, and Overton played around a straight one from Colombage.

Jacks offered some resistance from No. 6, hitting four fours in a row off Chameera when the field came up due to Sri Lanka’s painfully slow over-rate. But the impressive Dilshan Madushanka pegged back Gus Atkinson’s off stump, and two Fernando yorkers accounted for Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue to leave Jacks stranded on 46 not out.

England’s 265 proved far more than enough. Kamindu Mendis fell tamely plinking Atkinson to midwicket, and Pathum Nissanka edged behind flashing at Tongue, while Banton held an excellent low catch at cover to get Pavan Rathnayake. Jacks had Asalanka and Mendis lbw sweeping, and Overton’s hard lengths did for Janith Liyanage.

When Rehan’s googly did for Colombage, Sri Lanka were 133 for 7 and the game was up. Wellalage smeared Archer for the game’s first six, clearing Duckett on the rope, and cracked Rehan for 4-4-6 to put a dent in the margin. But he picked out mid-on for 45 off Jacks, who finished the game by having Fernando caught at long-on then cleaning up Madushanka.

It was Jacks’s second five-wicket haul as an England player and his first since his Test debut four years ago, and he won the match award after a stellar all-round effort. He is Brook’s vice-captain for this series in Jacob Bethell’s injury-enforced absence, and is becoming an increasingly important player.

Scores:
England 265 in 48.1 overs (Joe Root 44, Harry Brook 67, Will Jacks 46*; Asitha Fernando 3-53, Sachindu Colombage 3-44, ) beat Sri Lanka 176 in 37 overs (Dunith Wellalage 45, Kusal Mendis 42; Jamie Overton 2-21, Will Jacks 5-22) by 89 runs

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Sri Lanka settle for silver as India strike gold in cricket

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka’s women had to settle for silver at the 2026 Asian Games after India proved far too strong in the cricket final, romping to a 147-run victory.

India produced a commanding batting display after taking first lease of the wicket, piling up 216 for three from their 20 overs before dismissing Sri Lanka for just 69 in 15.4 overs.

Smriti Mandhana laid the foundation for India’s imposing total with a sparkling 79 off 45 balls before Richa Ghosh applied the finishing touches with an unbeaten 49 off only 22 deliveries.

Sri Lanka struggled to contain the Indian batting onslaught, with Chamudi Praboda and Kavisha Dilhari claiming a wicket apiece.

Faced with a daunting target of 217, Sri Lanka needed a flying start but instead found themselves tied down by a disciplined Indian attack.

Captain Chamari Atapattu attempted to lead the resistance with 29 off 21 balls, but there was little support around her. Kaushini Nuthyangana was the only other batter to reach double figures, making 14.

Once Chamari departed, Sri Lanka’s challenge quickly faded as wickets tumbled at regular intervals.

Deepti Sharma was the pick of the Indian bowlers, returning outstanding figures of three for six, while Shafali Verma chipped in with two for three as Sri Lanka were bundled out well inside their allotted 20 overs.

The emphatic victory handed India the gold medal, while Sri Lanka ended their Asian Games campaign with silver.

Caption: Chamari Atapattu couldn’t see her side through in the cricket final of Asian Games as Sri Lanka had to settle for silver medal.