VIGAN City, Ilocos Sur—Swimmers from Lucena City and General Santos City emerged victorious at the Quirino Stadium swimming pool at the start of competitions on Saturday in the Batang Pinoy National Championships e.
Kristian Yugo Cabana, 12 of Barangay Gulang-Gulang in Lucena City, the first gold medal of the Batang Pinoy that’s returning after almost two years of hiatus because of the pandemic.
Cabana topped the boys’ 12-below 200-meter individual medley with General Santos City’s Evenezir Polancos ruling the boys’ 15-13 200-m individual medley for the games’ second gold medal.
Inspired by his Olympic her Michael Phelps, Cabana won in two minutes and 29.50 seconds, with Valenzuela’s Kevin Bryle Chan settling for silver in 2:33.40 and Angeles City’s Daniel Jonas Ocampo bronze in 2:35.30 time.
“Just like everybody else here, I’m dreaming to swim in the Olympics like my idol Michael Phelps,” Cabana told BusinessMirror who was with his trainer and coach Alton de Luna. “I’m really happy to win my first ever gold medal here and I’m hoping for more.”
Cabana will still swim the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly and 200m freestyle hoping for a sweep of the gold medals in the 15-below category of the multi-sport event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission headed by Chairman Jose Emmanuel “Noli” Eala.
“I’ll try to get it all,” said Cabana, whose elder brother Yohan Mikhail swims for University of Santo Tomas.
The 15-year-old Polancos beat by a hair a taller 5-foot-5 Peter Cyrus Dean of Lucena City to capture the gold medal in 2:18.50. Shan Kervie Medina of Mabalacat City bagged the bronze in 2:22.70.
“It’s God’s will. Peter [Dean] was in front of me so I swam very hard,” said the 5-foot-3 Polancos said, who will vie in the 400m individual medley, 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 100m breaststroke.
Kyle Louise Bulaga of La Union surprised everyone by dominating the 200m individual medley in the girls’ under-12 with a time of 2:44.45 time. She beat Ilocos Sur’s Makayla Bettina Fetalvero (2:51.80) and Bulacan’s Eunice de Guzman (2:52.59).
The Batang Pinoy opened also on Saturday with a parade of delegates from 140 local government units around Vigan City that culminated with a festive program at the Quirino Stadium with Ilocos Sur Governor Jerry Singson and Eala declaring the games open.
PSC Commissioner Bong Coo along with Tokyo Olympics boxing silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam also graced the opening ceremony.