Dimuth Akalanka Peiris also known as Akalanka Peiris (born 11 January 2000) is a Sri Lankan swimmer and a national record holder in swimming. He has represented Sri Lanka in various international competitions including the Youth Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Aquatics Championships.

Education

Akalanka Peiris attended St. Peter’s College Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he received the Peterite gold, which is presented to high-achieving students. He completed his Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) Diploma in Management Accounting and is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Business Analytics in Australia. He is currently training at the Cheltenham Swimming Club under coach Kelly Stubbins.

Swimming Career

Peiris began competing internationally at the 2015 Junior World Championships in Singapore, where he earned a top 50 ranking. Since then, he has set multiple Sri Lankan national records and represented his country in major international competitions, including the Youth Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and World Aquatic Championships. At the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal, Peiris won seven medals and set national records in the backstroke and butterfly events. In 2024, he broke the 26-second barrier in the 50m backstroke at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar achieving a global ranking of 22nd, 3rd in Asia, and 1st in South Asia—a milestone for Sri Lankan swimming. Peiris after competing in his race

He became a top swimmer in the Australian circuit, finishing in the top 6 for the 50m backstroke at the 2024 Australian Nationals and winning in the 50m and 100m Backstroke at the Victorian State Sprints Championships. Over his career, Peiris has won more than 700 medals and has set 82 national age group records in domestic and international competitions. Akalanka-Peiris-1

International Competitions

2015 Junior World Championships

Peiris competed at the Junior World Championships held in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, where he achieved a top 50 world ranking.

2015 Asian Age Group Swimming Championships

At th
Asian Age Group Championships
in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, Peiris placed 7th in the 50m backstroke and 8th place in the 100m backstroke.

2016 Asian School Games

Peiris won silver medals in the 50m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly at the 2016 Asian Schools Games in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

2016 International Sports Games (Mini Olympics)

At the International Sports Games, also known as the Mini Olympics, held in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Peiris earned a world ranking of 1st in the 100m backstroke.

2017 Youth Commonwealth Games

Peiris represented Sri Lanka at the Youth Commonwealth Games in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, where he placed in the top 5 for the 50m butterfly 50m backstroke events.

2018 Commonwealth Games

Peiris competed at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He advanced to the semi-finals in the 50m backstroke and was a part of the 4×100m freestyle relay alongside teammates Matthew Abeysinghe, Kyle Abeysinghe, and

Cherantha De Silva Cherantha De Silva (born 12 July 1996) is a Sri Lankan medal-winning swimming (sport), swimmer, who has represented his country at 6 World Aquatics Championships, 3 FINA World Cup's, 2 Commonwealth Games(becoming a finalist), 1 Asian Games as w ...

, which reached the final.

2018 Asian Games

Peiris was selected to represent Sri Lanka at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

Jakarta, Indonesia Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, which coincided with his Advanced Level (A/L) exams. He became the first Sri Lankan to take his A/L exams overseas, completing his papers at the Sri Lankan embassy in Jakarta. At the Games, Peiris reached the finals in the 4×100m freestyle relay alongside teammates Matthew Abeysinghe, Kyle Abeysinghe, and

, He also placed 16thin Asia for the 50m backstroke.

2018 Summer Youth Olympics

Peiris represented Sri Lanka at the

2018 Summer Youth Olympics The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international multi-sport event, sports, cultural, and educational event held from 6 to 18 October 2018 ...

, in

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Akalanka Peiris at South Asian Games 2019

2019 South Asian Games

At the

2019 South Asian Games The 2019 South Asian Games, officially the XIII South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event which was originally slated to be held from 9 to 18 March 2019 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. However, the dates were postponed and the event was ...

Kathmandu, Nepal Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 m ...

, Peiris won seven medals. He earned a gold medal in the 4×100m freestyle relay alongside teammates Matthew Abeysinghe, Kyle Abeysinghe, and Kavindra Nugawela. He won silver medals in the 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke events and won bronze medals in the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly events. During the competition, he set

national records National Records was a record label that was started in New York City by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted until early 1951. Big Joe Turner was signed at the beginning and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as ...

in each backstroke event and the 50m butterfly.

2019 World Aquatic Championships

In 2019, Peiris represented Sri Lanka at the

World Aquatics Championships The World Aquatics Championships, formerly the FINA World Championships, are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. The championships are st ...

Gwangju, South Korea Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Pro ...

, as the only male swimmer on the national team.

2019 Singapore Nationals

Peiris competed at the Singapore Nationals, he won a silver in the 50m backstroke and a bronze in the 100m backstroke.

2021 FINA World Swimming Championships

Peiris competed at the 2021 World Championships in

Abu Dhabi, UAE Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, achieving a world ranking of 37th in the 50m backstroke and 41st in the 100m backstroke.

2022 Commonwealth Games

At the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Peiris continued his record-breaking performances, setting a new national record in the 50m backstroke and achieving a seasonal best in the 50m butterfly.

2023 Asian Games

Peiris competed in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

Hangzhou, China Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counties ...

, where he placed 10th in Asia in the 50m backstroke (short course).

2023 Australian Swimming Championships

At the Australian Swimming Nationals in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

, Peiris secured a 10th-place finish in the 50m backstroke (long course).

2024 World Aquatic Championships

In 2024, Peiris competed at the

Doha, Qatar Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It is also Qatar's ...

, where he broke the 26-second barrier in the 50m backstroke, setting a new national record and achieving a ranking of 22nd globally, 3rd in Asia, and 1st in South Asia in this event.

2024 Victorian State Sprints Swimming Championship

At the Victorian State Sprints Championships held in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

, Peiris claimed 1st place in both the 50m and 100m backstroke events, setting new national records in both events.

2024 Australian National Short Course Swimming Championship

At th
2024 Australian Nationals
in

Adelaide, Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, Peiris achieved two more national records in the 50m and 100m backstroke events, ranking among Australia’s top 6 backstroke swimmers.

Local Competitions

* Sri Lanka National Champion – 2019/2022 * National Age Group Champion – 2009/2011/2013/2014/2015/2017/2018 * Broke 82 Sri Lankan National Age Group Records * He won 700+ International and National Medals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peiris, Akalanka 2000 births Living people Sri Lankan male swimmers Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2018 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Sri Lanka Swimmers from Colombo Swimmers at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Asian Games competitors for Sri Lanka South Asian Games medalists in swimming South Asian Games gold medalists for Sri Lanka South Asian Games silver medalists for Sri Lanka South Asian Games bronze medalists for Sri Lanka Swimmers at the 2022 Asian Games