Parami Wasanthi Maristela Kalumarakkalage also known as Parami Wasanthi Maristela (born 28 May 2001) is a Sri Lankan track and field athlete who competes in the 2000 metre steeplechase event. She is the first Sri Lankan to have won a Youth Olympic medal.[1][2] She pursued her secondary education at Kuliyapitiya Central School.
She also won a gold medal in the women's steeplechase at the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships held in Gifu Japan with a new junior record in steeplechase event.[9][10] In 2018, it was revealed that she would receive a scholarship to Kenya through the support of Athletics Association of Sri Lanka in order to make arrangements for her to become an expertise in women's steeplechase competitions.[11] However, the move did not materialise due to unknown reasons. She also played rugby and she represented the Sri Lanka women's U16 rugby team.[12]
She hails from a difficult family background and underprivileged family circumstances. Her father Anthony Tudor is a fisherman and it was her father who encouraged Parami to take up the sport of athletics.[14]
In 2021, she appealed and demanded to the Sri Lankan authorities to convince the Government of India to immediately release her father and other fishermen who were arrested by the coastal guards for illegally straying in the Andaman Islands.[14] Her father was arrested by the Indian authorities alongside fellow fishermen in January 2021 and they were released in August 2021.[15]
Controversy
Sri Lankan sprint queen and 2000 Summer Olympic medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe landed a scathing attack on Parami Wasanthi criticising Parami's accusations regarding the failure of Sri Lanka Olympic Committee's promise to support athletes with required financial assistance.[16]
