Cebu City—Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh is in her final year as an age-group swimmer, marking the end of an impressive era.
The 2024 Palarong Pambansa will be her last competition at the secondary level. So far, the 17-year-old Mojdeh has entered seven events and clinched three victories in the first two days at the Cebu City Sports Complex pool.
On the second day of competition, Mojdeh secured two more gold medals, setting a new record in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:14.75, surpassing Xiandi Chua’s (NCR) five-year-old record of 2:43.08.
Following her record-breaking 200-meter butterfly performance the previous day, Mojdeh dominated the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:26.68.
“I’m happy with my time today. This year, I haven’t gone below 2:20, so I’m thrilled to achieve that,” said Mojdeh after winning the 200-meter butterfly gold on the first day with a time of 2:19.72. This performance shattered her own five-year-old course record of 2:22.69.
“That’s a season’s best, and it means a lot in my final year at the Palaro,” added Mojdeh.
Jasmine is significantly contributing to Region IV-A’s quest for dominance at the Palarong Pambansa this year. She hopes to leave a lasting impression at the high school level before heading to the United States.
Mojdeh has accepted a scholarship at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and will compete in the US NCAA Division next year.
Her Palarong Pambansa stint comes a month after she won two bronze medals at the 13th ASEAN Schools Games swimming competitions in Da Nang, Vietnam. Mojdeh, a student at Brent School in Biñan, secured podium finishes in the girls’ 200-meter butterfly and the girls’ 100-meter butterfly events.
