Tara Bolling a name synonymous with swimming in Sri Lanka passed away at the age of 76 on Wednesday. Her funeral will take place at the General Cemetary, Borella today at 4.30 pm.
The name Bolling and swimming are intertwined. It was Tara who set the platform for swimming to make a landmark in the country’s history - a practice which her three sons Jeremy, David and Julian pursued with distinction.
The daughter of former Sri Lanka cricket captain F.C. de Saram and Needra de Saram, Tara was educated at Bishop’s College but her interests did not lie so much with education but in swimming where at an early age she was coached in Australia.
Tara represented Sri Lanka (Ceylon then) in the 400 metres freestyle at meets held in India and at the Asian Games in Tokyo and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.
After quitting from competitive swimming she continued in the sport as a coach. The hall mark of her coaching was discipline which she instilled in her three sons who were successful swimmers as well as coaches. Julian was the most celebrated of the trio going onto win 15 gold medals at the South Asian Games and representing the country at three Olympic Games. Tara was married to late Ralph Bolling.
In 1988, Ralph Bolling along with Tara Bolling, and David founded the Rainbow Swimming Aquatic Club at the Army Pool where David coached the senior swimmers. In 2001, Julian and David started the Rainbow Swimming Academy (Pvt.) Ltd at the NCC. The Bollings continued to expand their coaching programs by commencing a “Learn to Swim” Program at the NCC, CH & FC (CCC), Austasia and at the Premadasa Riding School.
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