Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 29, 2025: The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka successfully held a two-day Athletes’ Forum 2025 at Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo.
The comprehensive residential camp, organised by the Athletes’ Commission of the Sri Lanka NOC, under the auspices of the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity, brought together 58 athletes representing a wide range of Olympic and Paralympic sports with a gender representation of 48 percent.
Sri Lanka NOC Secretary General Rifdy Fahmy attended the opening ceremony alongside NOC Treasurer and Chair of the Education Commission, Prithiviraj Perera, and NOC General Manager Lal Wickrematunge.
On the first day, expert-led sessions focused on Olympic values, sports nutrition, prevention of competition manipulation, athletes safeguarding, and anti-doping. The day concluded with interactive team-building activities.
The second day of the forum commenced with a session on Athlete365 delivered by the Chairman of the Athletes’ Commission and three-time Olympian Niluka Karunaratne, who highlighted the importance of utilising available IOC platforms and resources to support athlete development during and beyond sporting careers.
There were sessions on Sports Medicine and Injury Prevention, Athletes’ Mental Health and Meditation, and Motivation and Team Building. General Manager Wickrematunge also conducted a session on ‘Communicating with Confidence: Athletes in the Media Spotlight’ equipping athletes with practical skills to effectively engage with media and public platforms.
The programme concluded with a closing ceremony attended by NOC Vice President, Ms. Niloo Jayatilake, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency, Dr. Lalisha Kahatapitiya, and Athletes’ Commission Chair Niluka Karunaratne.
All athletes were awarded with certificates of participation.
