Sellappuliyage Lucian Benedict Rosa (better known as SLB Rosa, born February 11, 1944) is a former

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. He represented Sri Lanka at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

held in Munich, Germany. He is best known for running barefooted and winning a

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

and the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

double at the

1970 Asian Games The 6th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.- - Seoul, South Korea, had been selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea. (T ...

held in Bangkok, Thailand. His performance in 10,000 metres was also an Asian Games record. At the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1966, he won the bronze medal in both 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. His personal best performance in the 10,000 metres, 29:18.0 minutes, still stands as the Sri Lankan national record since 1975. Born in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, Rosa started his athletic career at Roman Catholic School, Ampitiya. Later he joined the Army and continued to pursue

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

. He led the Sri Lankan team in the 1972 Olympics but could not compete in the 1976 edition due to Sri Lanka boycotting the

Montreal Olympics Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

. He was in Ceylon Olympic squad in 1968 but country sent only a three-man team, which did not include Lucian, to Mexico due to financial difficulties. Rosa is a

University of Wisconsin–Parkside The University of Wisconsin–Parkside (UWP) is a public university in Somers, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has 4,644 students, 161 full-time faculty, and 89 lecturers and part-time faculty. The university of ...

Hall of Famer, and a men's cross-country and track coach from 1977-2007. Lucian Rosa Invitational is named after him.

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* 1944 births Living people People from Kandy Sri Lankan male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Sri Lanka Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for Sri Lanka Asian Games bronze medalists for Sri Lanka Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 Asian Games Sri Lankan Roman Catholics Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games {{SriLanka-athletics-bio-stub