Sri Lanka’s iconic rhythmic gymnast Canadian-born Anna-Marie Ondaatje wears many hats but the 21-year-old sports star is focussed on winning a medal for her motherland next year.

Having made her debut at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Anna-Marie has shrugged off her disappointment of missing out on the Tokyo Olympics 2020 by steaming ahead with her ambitions to become Sri Lanka’s global sports ambassador.

A multi-faceted personality, the stunningly beautiful Anna-Marie Suzanne Quint Ondaatje aims to follow the path of her great aunt Maureen Hingert, the only Sri Lankan to pose as Miss Universe runner-up in 1955. It was a heart-warming experience catching up with this talented teenager who returned to Sri Lanka after a two-year hiatus to receive an award, as she spelled out her dreams and aspirations to uplift the country of her forefathers.

Anna-Marie could have achieved her Olympic dream if she had not withdrawn from the Canadian team in 2017 which was working towards the 2020 Games as she chose to represent Sri Lanka with aplomb at the Commonwealth and Asian Games.

She not only put Sri Lanka on the world map when it came to rhythmic gymnastics but became a global ambassador for the sport after becoming the first Sri Lankan to make the finals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The lanky teenager who has blossomed into an iconic figure is no ordinary sportswoman. She is ahead of her time considering the ideals she stands for and the brand value she has created as a sports entrepreneur. She runs a Charity being the goodwill ambassador of ‘A Quint Ondaatje Foundation’, heads a sports and entertainment company AQO and is creating her own brand ‘AnnaQuintO’. She is a rare Sri Lankan sports star who is smart enough to think like an entrepreneur and contribute in no small measure to the billion-dollar sports economy envisaged by Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa.

“I am also opening my own branding called ‘AnnaQuintO’ which is going to be services and products which I am really passionate about. I am working on producing the best quality and best things I hold closely and I feel passionate about. My charity foundation will be funded through my own branding,” she said.

The aim of AQO Sports and Entertainment is to create a world without borders.

“It is a sports platform for competitions and people to showcase their skills, host articles, news and just giving a better platform, kind of like the new generation awards, bringing in more awareness and creating a better platform for news and sports persons to be recognised and feel comfortable and have a community there,” she said.

Anna-Marie has warmly embraced the Sri Lankan culture and weather and was elated to become one of the recipients of new generation awards by the Women in Management (WIM) in recognition of her outstanding talent. “I was so grateful to have been awarded the Heritage Award (Outstanding non-resident personality with Sri Lankan roots). I must thank Dr Rajini Sulochana Segera, owner of Women in Management. They created this amazing platform,” she said, enjoying the ceremony.

“It was such a special moment to recognise all of the youth in Sri Lanka for their efforts and skills. It’s incredible to see there are so many talented young Sri Lankans who like me need at least that motivation and recognition. Everyone seemed super happy.

I was happy and grateful as well,” said Anna-Marie after receiving her first award which she considers as another milestone in her life.

“It’s great to see women succeeding and acknowledging women’s efforts. I am grateful it was hosted by such a team of people.

Also, it’s like a milestone for my efforts and all my future goals towards my motherland. It was like a stepping stone on the right path,” she said when asked what this award meant to her.

For someone who made her runway debut at the International Fashion Encounter in Toronto, she is more down to earth than the average Sri Lankan and does not have airs or looks down at others. In fact, she is a great young humanitarian and philanthropist, a trait which she acquired from her father Alistair Ondaatjie, a successful Sri Lankan entrepreneur in Canada, who is carefully nurturing his eldest child to carry the torch so that the next generation will benefit.

Anna-Marie displayed she has been well-groomed and has not got her priorities mixed up as she articulated her vision and goals during a conversation with the Sunday Observer.

“My participation in a beauty pageant will come after sports. Right now my priority is rythmic gymnastics and winning a medal. And then after that, all the other things I am working on. Right now, sport is my priority,” said Anna-Marie, who is training for the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and also the University Games.

“These are the three main competitions that I am fighting for. My major goal and hope is to win a medal for Sri Lanka,” said Anna-Marie, who will be training with one of the best coaches when she returns to Toronto.

She is also learning to arm herself with business acumen after enrolling in a university in Toronto to pursue a degree in Business Management. “I graduated from high school online because I was travelling a lot and training a lot.

It was very difficult for me to attend school, so I decided to do all my programmes online,” she said. Asked how she manages being goodwill ambassador of a charity, joint managing director of AQO, opening her own brand AnnaQuintO while at the same time balancing her sports career and education, she said: “I am thankful to my number one supporter, my father. He is always like a backbone – great support and great help.

I can’t do any of this without him. Of course it’s a lot – school, gymnastics, entrepreneur – but when I know my priority is gymnastics all the other things become more fun for me.

It’s more something like that I am experiencing right now, what I would want to help through my business. So it helps me to better know how to uplift what I want to uplift for now.”

She is primed to walk the talk and does not feel burdened wearing several hats on her tender shoulders. “I like that I am wearing so many hats in a sense or doing so many things because it puts me in many different perspectives.

To be able to produce a good service or product or a way to help somebody. Without being in sports, without doing it hands on, I wouldn’t know how to help. So I want to make sure I am doing sports and I’m participating in the system. I know what I need and then I would know how to help somebody else,” she said.

She is living her dream of following in the footsteps of her great aunt Maureen Hingert after taking part in her first fashion show in Toronto. “I’ve been taking part in a kind of learning more about the industry and the niche, and just getting more experience in it.

Of course, it’s quite new for me. I love connecting with people in the industry because they teach you so much. It’s a great experience,” she said. She has hardly any time for leisure but relishes enjoying with her family first and friends when she has free time or just being with herself being an introvert. “If I feel like it, I like to be with myself sometimes. So it’s easy for me. My leisure time is done by myself, just enjoying my own time,” she said.

Anna-Marie considers the time she spends in Sri Lanka as special and to make connections.

“It’s so important to me and also very special every time I take a trip here because for one it’s my mother country. So it’s always going to be special, no matter where you are. More-so to connect with other professionals who are like-minded and want to develop and uplift the country in sports in any way possible,” she said.

She loves the warm Sri Lankan weather but feels her place is in Canada now to achieve her sporting dreams. “In this case in Toronto, studying and training. Rythmic gymnastics is new to Sri Lanka and they don’t have the facilities.

It is my duty after sport to provide this but right now I need to do training. I am training and staying in Canada and studying for now,” she said.

Anna-Marie could easily be mistaken for a foreigner but her heart is for the well being of Sri Lankans.

“My mother country is Sri Lanka. It’s always been my dad’s dream to give back to my mother country. Since I was a kid, he taught that through me we could do something to help our motherland.

This is our goal. It’s nothing else. It’s just to help. I believe that I have supported Sri Lankans and I feel I continue doing the best that I can to uplift the country in every way possible. That’s my goal,” she said with her eyes twinkling.