On Saturday the 25th of February the OSC track and field team left to Sugathadasa stadium to take part in the Inter International Schools’ Athletic Championship (ISAC) 2023. As this competition was taking place just a few weeks after we had returned from SAISA, we felt reasonably prepared even though we hadn’t had much preparation during the break. As soon as I arrived, I had my first event of the day which was coincidentally the first event of the competition, U20 boys high jump. Immediately, I could tell that the standard of competition at this meet were way higher than that in SAISA as the starting height was 1.50m, just 6 centimeters below my personal best and what I had come 6th place at SAISA with. I was not worried about clearing 1.50 following the trial jump in which I easily jumped over, but suddenly I had failed my first two jumps. With just one jump remaining and not wanting to go out on the first round, I managed to dig in, overcome the nerves and clear the height. Surprisingly, I did fairly well in this event. I managed to get a new PB of 1.62m (which if I had got at SAISA I would have come 3rd) even though I wasn’t able to place and I was proud of myself.

I didn’t have much of a rest unfortunately as I made my way over to the middle of the field for U20 boys discus. When I saw my competition any expectations I had of doing well immediately plummeted as I consider myself a fair amount taller than the average Sri Lankan and was surprisingly the second shortest there with everyone else built like absolute trees. The discus we were throwing was also heavier than the ones I was used to with the weight being 1.75kg and what I normally throw 1.5kg but surprisingly, I realised that size really does not matter for discus. Miraculously, the hours of training I had put in for my technique with Ms. Sue came through and I qualified for the finals which were the top 8 throwers and got three extra throws. Unfortunately, this meant that I was now missing the beginning of my next event, U20 boys long jump. I managed to come 6th for discus, which I considered a win, and immediately sprinted to long jump. The back to back events must have affected my performance unfortunately as I did much worse than expected not reaching anywhere close to my personal best of 5.30m but the relative success I had in discus ensured I wasn’t too disheartened.

 

 

Sam and I then had to rush over to the final event of the day, the u20 4*100m relay. Prior to the event, we had never practiced a 4*100 with our relay team and as it was not the same teams as ISAC, I was running 3rd, a completely different position compared to the one which I usually ran, 1st. We were in the 2nd heat and surprisingly our lack of practice did not hamper our progress as we managed to come 1st in our heat and get a very good time of 46.99 coming 6th overall. On the 2nd day, the only event I had was the U20 4*400m relay which was coincidentally the last event of the entire competition. This time we were in the 1st heat and managed to win the heat with a genuinely competitive time of 3:49. As we eagerly watched the 2nd and final heat, we were nervous as Lyceum Wattala finished 1st with a time of 3:36 but surprisingly, Gateway who finished 2nd in the heat got a time of 3:51, ensuring that we came 2nd for the relay, a huge achievement given the context of how many schools participate in ISAC.

 

Learning Outcomes:

Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth: By setting goals for what I wanted to achieve, I was able to focus and attain these expectations and demonstrate my growth as an athlete during the process.

Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process: Whether it was panicking about a 1st round knockout in high jump or worrying about the baton exchange as the 3rd runner, there were a lot of challenges that I undertook at ISAC and I can proudly say that I was able to give it my all and overcome these obstacles.

Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively: As a relay team, it’s essential to have a good understanding with your fellow runners. The bonds that I formed with my team during the event were pivotal in our success and allowed me to recognize the importance of working collaboratively.