Legendary high jumper Ethirveerasingam passes away
Source:Island
Olympian Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam who won Sri Lanka’s first gold medal at the Asian Games has passed away in Los Angeles.The former national record holder in the men’s high jump was 89 at the time of his demise.
A legend in the field of athletics, Ethir was a 17-year-old student at Jaffna Central when he was picked to represent Sri Lanka at Helsinki Olympics in 1952. Ethir represented Sri Lanka at the next edition of the Olympics in 1956 as well.
He held the national high jump record for nearly four decades since 1953.He won the gold medal at the 3rd Asian Games held in Tokyo, Japan in 1958 and the silver medal in the same event in 1962.
Ethirveerasingam had been a great source of strength to many a national athlete aspiring to achieve both sports and academic success. A number of high jumpers including former national record holder Manjula Kumara were beneficiaries of his support.
A professor in education Ethir was involved in development of education and sports in the country specially in the North and Eastern Provinces. (RF)
