A TOTAL of 71 athletes led by national record holder in breaststroke Joy Rodgers and collegiate standouts will vie in the Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) National Selection Bubble starting on Friday at New Clark City Aquatics Center in Capas, Tarlac.
Chloe Daos, a three-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines MVP out of Ateneo, and young upstarts Xiandi Chua and Camille Buico are also set to swim in the three-day tryouts where Rodgers is a favorite in the 50- and 100-meter events where she holds national records.
UAAP Season 82 Men’s Swimming MVP Sacho Ilustre heads the men’s field that also includes up-and-coming Ianiko Limfilipino and Miguel Barreto.
Ilustre will compete in four events, two of which are set on Saturday.
The tryouts are the first PSI competitions since the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. The event is sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de Natation or Fina, allowing the swimmers to gain ranking points and a chance to qualify to the World Swimming (25 meters) Championships in December and next year’s World Aquatics Championships.
“We hope that the event can show to the youth that we can rise again and recover from this pandemic,” PSI president Lailani Velasco said. “We hope to encourage current swimmers to train even more to reach their dreams.”
The event is backed by Philippine Sports Commission, Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Clark Development Corp.