| Theekshana Ratnasekera | |
| Fullname: | Theekshana Ratnasekera |
| Strokes: | Freestyle |
| Birth Date: | 1 July 1982 |
| Birth Place: | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Height: | 1.650NaN0 |
| Weight: | 550NaN0 |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Theekshana Ratnasekera (born July 1, 1982) is a Sri Lankan former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events.[1] She represented Sri Lanka, as an 18-year-old teen, at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and also held numerous age group and meet records in a sprint freestyle (both 50 and 100 m). Ratnasekera lost the race in the pre-Olympic selection to Radiesha Daluwatte, the teenage daughter of former Sri Lankan army commander Rohan Daluwatte, and the General filed a petition in the Court of Appeals to challenge the sports officials' decision to send Ratnasekera to the Olympics.[2] [3]
Ratnasekera competed only in the women's 50 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She received a ticket from FINA, under a Universality program, in an entry time of 29.90.[4] [5] Swimming in heat two, she held off a sprint battle against six other swimmers to overhaul a 30-second barrier and hit the wall first in a sterling time and a Sri Lankan record of 29.88. Ratnasekera's effortless triumph was not enough to put her through to the semifinals, as she placed sixty-fourth overall in the prelims.[6] [7] [8]