The Athletics Association at AASL election..

Former athletic sensation Sugath Thilakaratne will be up against retired DIG Upali Kumarasiri for the top post of the Athletics Association at AASL election was held at the Auditorium of the National Institute of Sports Science (NISS) today at 9.00 am.
Both Thilakaratne and Kumarasiri found backing of the many athletics administrators who will be no longer be eligible for re-election due to the amendment of the sports law which states any administrator who has served four years in a top post of a national sports association will not be eligible for re-election.
Kumarasiri is said to be a close ally of NOC chief Hemasiri Fernando while a number of district associations too had come forward to back Kumarasiri who is also a veteran administrator.
On the other hand Thilakaratne was nominated from many district associations and clubs while having found the backing of one of top athletics administrator’s who has the backing of much of the voter base which will be more than enough for Thilakaratne to win.
In the fight for the Secretary position, Sunimal Rupasinghe who represents Masters Athletics Association is said to have an advantage over Palitha Jayathillake who is a veteran athletics official as well a teacher in the Lyceum International School. Incumbent assistant treasurer Tornado Jayasundera will be uncontested in the post of treasurer.
Thilakaratne, the Asian Games 400m record holder and only athlete in the island to go beyond 45 seconds mark in the event (44.61 seconds), had got the opportunity because of the new law as a number of top officials are out of the contest. He said this will be a good opportunity to learn about administrating sports. He was the glamour boy of 90s athletics where he had won a number of international medals including gold in

Asian Games along with two Olympic participations (1996 and 2000) and four World Championship honours. Yet he is most famous for beating the world 400m record holder Michael Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics preliminary round, where the world started to talk about the sprinter from the island nation who surprised everyone in that race including Johnson.
There will be 15 candidates vying for seven vice president positions including a female. Meanwhile, long serving recorder of the association, Saman Kumara will be contesting to maintain his position for the first time in 20 years with A.N.B. Senarath set to contest him for that post today.