Maurice Coomarawel
Source:Dailynews
It was in 1960 that a Sri Lankan cyclist was sent for the first time to participate in the Olympics.
Morris Coomarawel who was blessed with this distinction remained a star cyclist for almost a decade.
He commenced his career in cycle racing in 1957, when he came third in a 50-mile cycle race organised by the Wing Wheel Cycling Club that year.
The same year he won a 30-mile cycle race with the determination that he would never again face defeat.
In the years 1960, 1962, and 1963 Maurice won the Tour de Lanka Cycle Race against several hundred contestants.
In fact, when he won the 1960 Tour de Lanka he was only 19 years old. Although he went to Rome for the Olympics that year, he could not participate due to an illness.
In 1962, the Tour de Lanka covered 282 miles. He won the event in 15 hours and 27 minutes. In 1963 the course was 290 miles. He won the race once again in 15 hours and five minutes.
In 1965, Maurice covered the 240-mile course in 12 hours and 38 seconds to win the event. It was after 26 minutes that the second placed cyclist finished the course.
The course of 190 miles was covered by Coomarawel in six hours 19 minutes to win the event in 1967.
Maurice was thus able to win the Tour de Lanka consecutively on three occasions. He served in the Royal Ceylon Air Force and resigned in 1965 to join the Ceylon Transport Board as a mechanical foreman.
As a routine, Maurice used to get to bed early and rise early to practice cycling for two hours in the morning.
During the weekends he cycled to Kandy and back. As training for the Tour de Lanka, it was part of his programme to cycle from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya and back.
Maurice participated in 418 cycle races during the period from 1957 to 1977 and won 384 events.
He has received 287 cycles as gifts and won 200 trophies. In 1975, he was promoted as a mechanical engineer and was posted to the CTB Depot in Angoda.
Maurice married Romaine a former student of St. Joseph’s Convent, Nugegoda. But on 27 January 1977, Maurice his wife Romaine and daughter Jenny, Migrated to Australia to accept an appointment as an Engineer in the Mechanical Division of an Australian Airways Company. (C.D)
