Duncan White and Lakshman Kadirgamar – on 4th February 1948

Seen in the picture above are Duncan White, Lakshman Kadirgamar, M.A.M. Sherrif and Oscar Wijesinghe, representing the four communities (Burgher, Tamil, Muslim, Sinhalese), who had brought four scrolls to the Independence square on 4th February 1948 to be handed over to the Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake to read for the public.

It was in the same year Sri Lanka made her début at the XIV Olympic Games in London where in the final of the 400m Hurdles Duncan White, though beaten by Roy Cochran of USA to second place, lowered the existing Olympic record skimming over the hurdles in 51.8 secs. Thus getting the first medal to Independent Sri Lanka at an international sporting event. Read more about White at: Duncan White, the first athlete to win an Olympic medal for Sri Lanka

Duncan White’s silver medal at the Trinity College Archives

Lakshman Kadirgamar who is considered one of the most successful foreign ministers Sri Lanka was also an Athletic Champion! Kadirgamar won the 110m Hurdles event at the Public Schools Meet and later won the Nationals in 1951. At the All India and Ceylon Inter University Athletic Meet he again won the above event.

Both Duncan White and Lakshman Kadirgamar, being old boys of Trinity, bagged many achievements during their school careers and showcased the true qualities of a Trinitian, leading Sri Lanka in their fields and making a positive difference to the country and to the world. We are truly honoured to have had such personalities and we hope to see more in the future to come!

We thank The Ceylon Daily News for capturing the picture (above) and The Island for posting information about this historic event.

14th August 1948: Duncan White of Ceylon fixes his starting blocks to the track at the 1948 London Olympics. Original Publication: Picture Post – 4582 – Fastest Men On Earth – pub. 1948 (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Lakshman Kadirgamar
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

WHAT YOU CAN READ NEXT

COLLEGE NEWS

CLUBS & SOCIETIES NEWS

SPORTS NEWS

STUDENTS ON SPOTLIGHT

@trinitycollege.lk
Trinity College Kandy

@trinitycollege.lk

????Welcome to the official Instagram account of Trinity College, Kandy! ???? . "Respice Finem"
  • We are proud to announce Imperial College of Business Studies as the official sponsor of Trinity College Athletics for the 2025/2026 season. This partnership marks a new chapter of excellence, opportunity, and support for our young athletes as they continue to strive for greatness on and off the field.

#TrinityCollegeKandy #TrinityCollegeLK #TCKAthletics #OfficialSponsor #ImperialCollege #StudentAthletes #StriveForExcellence #SchoolSportsLK #PartnershipForSuccess #TrinityPride #SupportOurLions
    1 day ago
  • 🏀 Dribble ‘25 – 3×3 Basketball Tournament! held on 22nd June at the Trinity College Quadrangle, organized by the Interact Clubs of Hillwood College and Trinity  College Kandy 

Video by Damsith Liyanage for Trinity College Media Unit 

#Dribble25 #3x3Basketball #FIBA #SLFBA #TrinityCollegeLK #HillwoodCollege #YouthInAction
    2 days ago
  • From Trinity’s Classrooms to the Forest Canopy - Feathers Captures Avian Science in Flight

🕊️ View the album here: https://trinitycollege.lk/2025/06/23/feathers-ornithology-clubs-digital-album/

#Feathers25 #TrinityOrnithologyClub #TrinityCollegeKandy #TrinityCollegeLK #BirdwatchingSriLanka #AvianAdventures #NatureThroughOurLens #YoungNaturalists #ExploreWithTrinity #WildlifePhotography #BirdingSL #StudentPhotographers #ConservationMatters #SriLankaBirds #DigitalNatureAlbum
    2 days ago
  • 🇱🇰 Proud Moment for Trinity! 🏑 

We are delighted to announce that two of our talented students, Master B. Gogulnath and Master M.R.M. Arkam, have been selected to represent Sri Lanka at the RE – Junior U18 Men’s and Women’s Asia Cup Tournament, taking place from 1st to 15th July 2025 in Dazhou, China.

Wishing them all the very best as they take Trinity and Sri Lanka to the international stage! 

#trinitycollegekandy #trinitycollegelk #SriLankaHockey #AsiaCup2025 #TrinitiansAbroad #TrinityPride #U18AsiaCup #Hockey #FutureChampions #InternationalStage #GoLions
    3 days ago
We are proud to announce Imperial College of Business Studies as the official sponsor of Trinity College Athletics for the 2025/2026 season. This partnership marks a new chapter of excellence, opportunity, and support for our young athletes as they continue to strive for greatness on and off the field.

#TrinityCollegeKandy #TrinityCollegeLK #TCKAthletics #OfficialSponsor #ImperialCollege #StudentAthletes #StriveForExcellence #SchoolSportsLK #PartnershipForSuccess #TrinityPride #SupportOurLions
We are proud to announce Imperial College of Business Studies as the official sponsor of Trinity College Athletics for the 2025/2026 season. This partnership marks a new chapter of excellence, opportunity, and support for our young athletes as they continue to strive for greatness on and off the field. #TrinityCollegeKandy #TrinityCollegeLK #TCKAthletics #OfficialSponsor #ImperialCollege #StudentAthletes #StriveForExcellence #SchoolSportsLK #PartnershipForSuccess #TrinityPride #SupportOurLions
1 day ago
View on Instagram |
1/4
🏀 Dribble ‘25 – 3×3 Basketball Tournament! held on 22nd June at the Trinity College Quadrangle, organized by the Interact Clubs of Hillwood College and Trinity College Kandy Video by Damsith Liyanage for Trinity College Media Unit #Dribble25 #3x3Basketball #FIBA #SLFBA #TrinityCollegeLK #HillwoodCollege #YouthInAction
1 day ago
View on Instagram |
2/4
From Trinity’s Classrooms to the Forest Canopy – Feathers Captures Avian Science in Flight 🕊️ View the album here: https://trinitycollege.lk/2025/06/23/feathers-ornithology-clubs-digital-album/ #Feathers25 #TrinityOrnithologyClub #TrinityCollegeKandy #TrinityCollegeLK #BirdwatchingSriLanka #AvianAdventures #NatureThroughOurLens #YoungNaturalists #ExploreWithTrinity #WildlifePhotography #BirdingSL #StudentPhotographers #ConservationMatters #SriLankaBirds #DigitalNatureAlbum
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
3/4
🇱🇰 Proud Moment for Trinity! 🏑 

We are delighted to announce that two of our talented students, Master B. Gogulnath and Master M.R.M. Arkam, have been selected to represent Sri Lanka at the RE – Junior U18 Men’s and Women’s Asia Cup Tournament, taking place from 1st to 15th July 2025 in Dazhou, China.

Wishing them all the very best as they take Trinity and Sri Lanka to the international stage! 

#trinitycollegekandy #trinitycollegelk #SriLankaHockey #AsiaCup2025 #TrinitiansAbroad #TrinityPride #U18AsiaCup #Hockey #FutureChampions #InternationalStage #GoLions
🇱🇰 Proud Moment for Trinity! 🏑 

We are delighted to announce that two of our talented students, Master B. Gogulnath and Master M.R.M. Arkam, have been selected to represent Sri Lanka at the RE – Junior U18 Men’s and Women’s Asia Cup Tournament, taking place from 1st to 15th July 2025 in Dazhou, China.

Wishing them all the very best as they take Trinity and Sri Lanka to the international stage! 

#trinitycollegekandy #trinitycollegelk #SriLankaHockey #AsiaCup2025 #TrinitiansAbroad #TrinityPride #U18AsiaCup #Hockey #FutureChampions #InternationalStage #GoLions
🇱🇰 Proud Moment for Trinity! 🏑 We are delighted to announce that two of our talented students, Master B. Gogulnath and Master M.R.M. Arkam, have been selected to represent Sri Lanka at the RE – Junior U18 Men’s and Women’s Asia Cup Tournament, taking place from 1st to 15th July 2025 in Dazhou, China. Wishing them all the very best as they take Trinity and Sri Lanka to the international stage! #trinitycollegekandy #trinitycollegelk #SriLankaHockey #AsiaCup2025 #TrinitiansAbroad #TrinityPride #U18AsiaCup #Hockey #FutureChampions #InternationalStage #GoLions
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
4/4