FILIPINO swimmers scooped a total of 16 medals—two of them golds—on top of setting their personal best in the just concluded 45th Southeast Age Group Championship in Jakarta.
And for the first time in years, 16-year-old diver Joseph Reynado clinched a podium finish by bagging a bronze in the boys’ platform event for 16 to 18 years old.
It was a productive campaign by the 18-member squad culled from the national tryouts conducted by Philippine Aquatics Inc. (PAI) secretary-general, Batangas First District Rep. Eric Buhain, a regional swimming icon and two-time Olympian.
“President Miko [Vargas], me and the entire board of trustees of Philippine Aquatics Inc. are very happy about the achievements of our team,” Buhain said. “It can be done and we have proven it.”
Buhain said that the team’s Medal Success Rate was pegged at 77 percent—17 medals from 18 swimmers and 4 divers.
“That is a big leap from last year’s 24 percent Medal Success Rate with 24 medals coming from 99 swimmers,” said Buhain, a Philippine Sports Hall-of-Famer.
“We hope to inspire more Filipino age group athletes to go for medal standards in the 46th edition in Thailand in October next year.”
Jennuel Booh De Leon and Arabella Nadeen Taguinota led the charge that gathered top junior swimmers from eight countries.
De Leon, 16, the pride of Aklan, claimed the gold in the boys’ 16-18 class 50m butterfly clocking 25.40 seconds over Malaysian swimmer Bernie Elle Yang Lee (25.49) and Thanaseat Thanonthisitsakul of Thailand (25.72).
The 14-year-old Taguinota from Pasig City topped the girls’ 14-15 100 meters breaststroke with 1:13.40, beating Vietnam’s Thuy Hien Nguyen (1:14.07) and Thailand’s Natthakita Leekitchakorn (1:14.50).
Last year’s gold medalist in the 13-under class
Quezon City’s Jamesray Ajido made a statement in the boys 14-15 category with his three silver medals—50m (25.93) and 100m (57.12) butterfly and 100m backstroke (1:00.68), while Estifano Ramos gave the country it’s fourth silver with a 2:10.39 effort in the boys 16-18 200m backstroke.
“It was success despite sending a small contingent,” said head coach Ramil Ilustre, the third generation of the noted Ilustre clan in local swimming. “Most of the swimmers got their personal best. We were solid and everybody was in high spirits.
De Leon clinched bronze in the 50m freestyle (24.35), while fast-rising Aishel Evangelista collected three in the boys 13-under 200m free (2:05.12) and 200m (2:19.83) and 400m (4:56.01) individual medley.
The other boys bronze medalists were Clark Ken Apuada (14-15 50m freestyle, 24.64), Jalil Taguinod (16-18 50m breaststroke, 29.99), Ivo Enot (100m backstroke, 9.21) and Peter Cyrus Dean (50m backstroke, 27.38).
Mishka Sy also bagged a bronze medal in the girls’ 16-18 200m individual medley (2:23.29).
“We have a high medal-to-athlete ratio, that’s the result of sending deserving swimmers to competitions,” said Chito Rivera, PAI executive director who was the head of delegation in Jakarta. “Almost all the swimmers made the finals of their events.”