Deshabandu Julian Bolling was born on 19 June 1966 and is a Sri Lankan medal-winning swimmer who represented his country at numerous international competitions.
20 Facts About Julian Bolling
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Julian Bolling is fondly remembered as the poster boy of Sri Lankan swimming in the 1980s.
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Julian Bolling won 15 gold medals for Sri Lanka at the South Asian Games between 1984 and 1991.
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Julian Bolling represented Sri Lanka at three Olympic Games, firstly at Los Angeles in 1984, then at Seoul in 1988, and finally at Barcelona in 1992.
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Julian Bolling was the first Sri Lankan to participate in three consecutive Olympics.
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Julian Bolling is the son of Tara Bolling and cousin of Dipika Chanmugam, both of whom have represented Sri Lanka internationally.
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Julian Bolling's mother and coach Tara Bolling nee De Saram was a standout swimmer in the latter half of the 1960s represented Ceylon at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Julian Bolling's grandfather Fredrick de Saram was a cricketer and infamous for having led the attempted military coup of 1962.
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Julian Bolling took up swimming while pursuing his education at Royal College and he first took part in an age group meet in India in 1979 which was his first major international exposure.
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Julian Bolling proved his mettle and stamped his authority with his two elder brothers Jeromy Bolling and David Bolling in the 1979 Indo-Sri Lankan-Bangladesh Swimming Triangular Meet.
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Julian Bolling made his Asian Games debut during the 1982 Asian Games and gained sixth-place finishes in both men's 400m and 1500m freestyle events while securing a seventh-place finish in the men's 400m individual medley event.
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Julian Bolling graduated from the University of California and with a marketing degree from the Clarion University in the US when he was on a scholarship in the USA.
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Julian Bolling returned to Sri Lanka in 1992 and worked in American Express Bank for a brief stint before switching to Nestles.
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Julian Bolling was dubbed as South Asia's best swimmer following his medal galore at 1991 South Asian Games.
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Julian Bolling claimed gold medals in men's 200 m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 200m butterfly, freestyle relay and 400m individual medley events during the 1991 South Asian Federation Games.
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Julian Bolling felt he had not enjoyed the sport due to undue pressure on him according to the level of expectations that the country had on him to win medals.
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Julian Bolling took water polo as a side hustle and competed in a water polo event held in Kolkata in November 1992 just after returning from Barcelona following the conclusion of the Summer Olympics.
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Julian Bolling took part in an Asian waterpolo tournament in Thailand.
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Julian Bolling was honoured in 1988 by being awarded the Deshabandu, which is the third-highest national honour awarded in Sri Lanka.
20.
Julian Bolling worked as a coach of Rainbow Aquatic Club and was appointed as a member of the National Sports Council.