Sellappuliyage Lucian Benedict Rosa (better known as SLB Rosa, born February 11, 1944) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n former

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. He represented Sri Lanka at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

held in Munich, Germany. He is best known for running barefooted and winning a

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

and the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

double at the

1970 Asian Games The 6th Asian Games also known as Bangkok 1970, were held from 9 to 20 December 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.- - Seoul, South Korea, had been selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from ne ...

held in Bangkok, Thailand. His performance in 10,000 metres was also an Asian Games record. At the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1966, he won the bronze medal in both 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. His personal best performance in the 10,000 metres, 29:18.0 minutes, still stands as the Sri Lankan national record since 1975. Born in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

, Rosa started his athletic career at Roman Catholic School,

Ampitiya Ampitiya () is a suburb of the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located within the country's Central Province. Ampitiya is approximately 3 miles from the Kandy city centre. Ampitiya is administratively divided into the two sections of Ampitiya n ...

. Later he joined the Army and continued to pursue

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

. He led the Sri Lankan team in the 1972 Olympics but could not compete in the 1976 edition due to Sri Lanka boycotting the

Montreal Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

. He was in Ceylon Olympic squad in 1968 but country sent only a three-man team, which did not include Lucian, to Mexico due to financial difficulties. Rosa is a

University of Wisconsin–Parkside The University of Wisconsin–Parkside (UW Parkside or UWP) is a public university in Somers, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has 4,644 students, 161 full-time faculty, and 89 lecturers and part-ti ...

Hall of Famer, and a men's cross-country and track coach from 1977-2007. Lucian Rosa Invitational is named after him.

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* 1944 births Living people Sportspeople from Kandy Sri Lankan male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Sri Lanka Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for Sri Lanka Asian Games bronze medalists for Sri Lanka Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 Asian Games Sri Lankan Roman Catholics Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games {{SriLanka-athletics-bio-stub