On 11 April 2021, Sri Lanka entered the record books as leading aircraftman Roshan Abeysundara swam the Palk Strait in 28 hours, 19 minutes, and 43 seconds, breaking the previously held record of 51 hours set in 1971 by V.S. Kumar Anandan. Setting off at 2 a.m. on 10 April from Talaimannar on the north-western coast of Mannar Island, he swam up to Danuskodi, Rameshwaran in India and back, covering a distance of 59.3 km returning at 7 a.m. the next morning.
Speaking about the swim itself, Corporal Abeysundara shared that he trained for a period of eight months in preparation for the attempt. He said that going into it, he truly did not expect this outcome, as considering the timing he clocked during practise, the projected estimate for his timing was a total of 35 hours. He shared that it was a gruelling process but swimming has always been in his blood and he was confident in himself to complete the task, sharing that he had a goal in mind and he simply wished to complete it.
Abeysundara stated that when he arrived at the Sri Lanka-India border, he was welcomed by nearly six hovercrafts from the Indian Naval forces who were incredibly supportive, and guided them to the touchpoint and then the return to cross back into Lankan waters.
About Corporal Roshan Abeysundara
Born in 1989 in the Southern coastal city of Talalla, Abeysundara is a born swimmer whose forte is open-water swimming. Entering competitive swimming as a schoolboy at the Matara Central College, he became the holder of numerous records.
Abeysundara started competitive swimming when he was studying in grade six at the Matara Central College under the guidance of his school coach H.G. Prasad. He showed absolute prowess at national-level events on many occasions, most notable being his placement in 2004 at the all-island tournament – establishing his first national record by winning the under-14 freestyle event. He placed second in the 200 m freestyle event in the same year.
Abeysundara shared that his events are usually the two-mile and six-mile open water events and long-distance events, and this is largely due to his upbringing and where he has his roots. He said: “I grew up just 200 to 300 metres away from the beach, I love the open water, it is my calling.” His passion is evident in the way that he speaks about the beauty of the beach and how absolutely devastating it is for him to see the beaches get destroyed day by day due to human negligence.
This need to draw attention to the destruction endured by Sri Lanka’s beaches was the driving force behind the decision to attempt breaking the world record, he said, stating that he wished to draw attention to the pollution before the damage was irreversible: “As someone from the coast, I see the beach every day, and as things are going right now, today’s beach is not what you will see tomorrow, day by day the destruction gets worse and I wanted to do something at a big enough scale that would draw attention to the matter.”
Abeysundara shared that he has received immense support from his family in his pursuit of doing better for the coastal stretch of the island, with his wife Manoji Wijeratne being a real pillar of strength and his two children, a seven-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, both standing beside him in his journey. He said that he wishes to have a hand in conserving the state of the environment so that his children may have the same opportunities and experiences he had as a young boy, to fall in love with the ocean and perhaps grow to love the open water as he does.
Joining the Air Force, and his other accomplishments
Corporal Abeysundara joined the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2008 as an Airman, sharing that he chose to join the Air Force instead of the Navy, despite his obvious penchant for swimming, because as a young boy he was always drawn to the Air Force uniform.
He stated that as the only boy in a fishing family with two sisters, financial difficulties led him to end his school education at the Ordinary Level (O/L) stage and seek a job, which was when he joined the SLAF, serving during the civil war in operation areas.
After joining the forces, Abeysundara stated that he received a lot of assistance from coaches and the numerous sporting programmes within the system allowing him to excel, and once the war came to an end, he joined the Air Force Swimming Club (AFSC) in 2011 under Coach Samantha Priyadarshana.
He went on to obtain many accolades while serving as a swimming instructor at AFSC, competing in the 24-28 age category, winning first place in the 400 m freestyle event and second place in the 800 m freestyle event at the 2014 Sri Lanka National age group swimming meet. In the same year, he won third place at the Ambalangoda 2 km Sea Swim. He is a regular participant in Sri Lanka’s longest annual six-mile sea swim conducted by the Kinross Swimming Club.
At present, he is a Level III swimming instructor affiliated with the American Swimming Coaches Association, and has undergone training from Olympic medallist Julian Bolling. He is also an experienced lifeguard who has obtained the Level II standard from Sri Lanka Life Saving.
In preparation for his world record swim, Abeysundara also set a new record in National Open Water Swimming twice within a short time period. He created a new record by swimming a 25 km distance from Matara to Koggala on 3 January 2021, clocking a time of 10 hours and 37 minutes, and went on to set a record by swimming a distance of 49 miles from Matara to Hikkaduwa and back to Unawatuna on 27 February 2021 with a timing of 23 hours and 10 minutes.
He stated that he is immensely grateful for the support he has received courtesy of the SLAF, sharing that his expedition received support and guidance from the Commander of the Air Force Sudarshana Pathirana, Air Force Sports Director –Group Captain Fernandopulle, his sponsor Avro Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. Chairman Dr. Viranjith Thambugala, and Donra PS member Achira.
He commented that a special thank you must be extended to his coach Dr. K.W. Yasaratne, a Mountbatten Medalist (2006), FINA Level II, and ASCA (American Swimming Coaching Association) Level III coach, and also a senior examiner at the Royal Life Saving Society – England and former Life-Saving Association of Sri Lanka Chief Examiner.
Challenges and what is next 
Abeysundara was originally scheduled to make his record attempt on 19 March, awaiting Defence Ministry clearance for the Guinness record attempt. He stated that he was concerned with the possibility of having to do it after April because the sea gets rough after March. He was also sure that the Palk Strait had widened over time and he would in any case have to swim a distance much more than Kumar Anandan did in 1971.
Considering that he was confident of his timing, we asked him why it was that he chose to exert his full efforts in breaking the first record, as often athletes attempt to place multiple records if they are certain of their capabilities, to which he shared that it is quite a challenge to get the attention of the Guinness World Record Committee and so he did his best in the opportunity that was given to him. Abeysundara’s record-breaking attempt was monitored by the officials of the Sports Ministry and Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union before they submitted all relevant materials to the Guinness World Record Committee.
As for his future plans, following this world record, he shared that he is determined to create more open water swimming records in the future and most importantly, he wishes to become an ambassador to carry the message of the importance of preserving oceanic and beach environments throughout the world. Pollution is wreaking havoc on the globe, Abeysundara said, and he wants to raise awareness on this matter and get people actively involved in preserving oceanic environments and keeping the beaches clean.
Born in 1989 in the Southern coastal city of Talalla, Abeysundara is a born swimmer whose forte is open-water swimming. Entering competitive swimming as a schoolboy at the Matara Central College, he became the holder of numerous records.
Abeysundara started competitive swimming when he was studying in grade six at the Matara Central College under the guidance of his school coach H.G. Prasad. He showed absolute prowess at national-level events on many occasions, most notable being his placement in 2004 at the all-island tournament – establishing his first national record by winning the under-14 freestyle event. He placed second in the 200 m freestyle event in the same year.
Abeysundara shared that his events are usually the two-mile and six-mile open water events and long-distance events, and this is largely due to his upbringing and where he has his roots. He said: “I grew up just 200 to 300 metres away from the beach, I love the open water, it is my calling.” His passion is evident in the way that he speaks about the beauty of the beach and how absolutely devastating it is for him to see the beaches get destroyed day by day due to human negligence.
This need to draw attention to the destruction endured by Sri Lanka’s beaches was the driving force behind the decision to attempt breaking the world record, he said, stating that he wished to draw attention to the pollution before the damage was irreversible: “As someone from the coast, I see the beach every day, and as things are going right now, today’s beach is not what you will see tomorrow, day by day the destruction gets worse and I wanted to do something at a big enough scale that would draw attention to the matter.”
Abeysundara shared that he has received immense support from his family in his pursuit of doing better for the coastal stretch of the island, with his wife Manoji Wijeratne being a real pillar of strength and his two children, a seven-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, both standing beside him in his journey. He said that he wishes to have a hand in conserving the state of the environment so that his children may have the same opportunities and experiences he had as a young boy, to fall in love with the ocean and perhaps grow to love the open water as he does.
Joining the Air Force, and his other accomplishments
Corporal Abeysundara joined the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2008 as an Airman, sharing that he chose to join the Air Force instead of the Navy, despite his obvious penchant for swimming, because as a young boy he was always drawn to the Air Force uniform.
He stated that as the only boy in a fishing family with two sisters, financial difficulties led him to end his school education at the Ordinary Level (O/L) stage and seek a job, which was when he joined the SLAF, serving during the civil war in operation areas.
After joining the forces, Abeysundara stated that he received a lot of assistance from coaches and the numerous sporting programmes within the system allowing him to excel, and once the war came to an end, he joined the Air Force Swimming Club (AFSC) in 2011 under Coach Samantha Priyadarshana.
He went on to obtain many accolades while serving as a swimming instructor at AFSC, competing in the 24-28 age category, winning first place in the 400 m freestyle event and second place in the 800 m freestyle event at the 2014 Sri Lanka National age group swimming meet. In the same year, he won third place at the Ambalangoda 2 km Sea Swim. He is a regular participant in Sri Lanka’s longest annual six-mile sea swim conducted by the Kinross Swimming Club.
At present, he is a Level III swimming instructor affiliated with the American Swimming Coaches Association, and has undergone training from Olympic medallist Julian Bolling. He is also an experienced lifeguard who has obtained the Level II standard from Sri Lanka Life Saving.
In preparation for his world record swim, Abeysundara also set a new record in National Open Water Swimming twice within a short time period. He created a new record by swimming a 25 km distance from Matara to Koggala on 3 January 2021, clocking a time of 10 hours and 37 minutes, and went on to set a record by swimming a distance of 49 miles from Matara to Hikkaduwa and back to Unawatuna on 27 February 2021 with a timing of 23 hours and 10 minutes.
He stated that he is immensely grateful for the support he has received courtesy of the SLAF, sharing that his expedition received support and guidance from the Commander of the Air Force Sudarshana Pathirana, Air Force Sports Director –Group Captain Fernandopulle, his sponsor Avro Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. Chairman Dr. Viranjith Thambugala, and Donra PS member Achira.
He commented that a special thank you must be extended to his coach Dr. K.W. Yasaratne, a Mountbatten Medalist (2006), FINA Level II, and ASCA (American Swimming Coaching Association) Level III coach, and also a senior examiner at the Royal Life Saving Society – England and former Life-Saving Association of Sri Lanka Chief Examiner.
Challenges and what is next
Abeysundara was originally scheduled to make his record attempt on 19 March, awaiting Defence Ministry clearance for the Guinness record attempt. He stated that he was concerned with the possibility of having to do it after April because the sea gets rough after March. He was also sure that the Palk Strait had widened over time and he would in any case have to swim a distance much more than Kumar Anandan did in 1971.
Considering that he was confident of his timing, we asked him why it was that he chose to exert his full efforts in breaking the first record, as often athletes attempt to place multiple records if they are certain of their capabilities, to which he shared that it is quite a challenge to get the attention of the Guinness World Record Committee and so he did his best in the opportunity that was given to him. Abeysundara’s record-breaking attempt was monitored by the officials of the Sports Ministry and Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union before they submitted all relevant materials to the Guinness World Record Committee.
As for his future plans, following this world record, he shared that he is determined to create more open water swimming records in the future and most importantly, he wishes to become an ambassador to carry the message of the importance of preserving oceanic and beach environments throughout the world. Pollution is wreaking havoc on the globe, Abeysundara said, and he wants to raise awareness on this matter and get people actively involved in preserving oceanic environments and keeping the beaches clean.