Hoping to ride the crest of the huge Olympic waves off the recent triumph in Paris, the Philippine Aquatics, Inc. starts on Thursday the National Trials for the 50 meters (long course) and 25 meters (short course) at the Teofilo Ildefonso pool inside RMSC in Malate, Manila.
“Let’s keep the Olympics fever going, every swimmer who competes today are surely dreaming not just inclusion in the national team but the chance to be the next Olympics champion,” said PAI sec gen and Batangas 1st District Rep. Eric Buhain.
“Carlos Yulo proved that you could start little but finish big in sports. So, we’re surely using Caloy as an inspiration to our event and our young participants.”
The National Trials sponsored by Speedo and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is billed the toughest in memory as PAI aims for the revival of swimming as “the Philippine pool of champions” with the likes of Olympians Ildefonso, Buhain and Akiko Thomson.
“The Olympic gold is way, way out there, but it’s not mission impossible. We will do it step by step, Southeast Asian, Asian Games, World Championships, it’s a long course yes, but will reach that goal,” added Buhain who reminded all that the Trials is among the hurdles under the new PAI data-based ranking system.
The PAI’s data-based rankings system will debut in the Trials backed by Speedo and the Philippine Sports Commission. The strict ranking system which can be seen in the association website will determine the swimmers, homegrown or otherwise, deserving to be considered in the national training and elite pools.
The National Trials, as a starter, will be the basis for the selection of members of the Philippine Team that will participate in this year’s World Aquatics World Cup series (25-meter short course), the 46th Southeast Asian Age Group Championships, and next year’s World Aquatics Championships on July 11-15 in Singapore (50-meter-long course).
The World Series comprises competition on Oct. 18-20 (Series 1) in Shanghai, China; Series 2 on Oct. 24-26 in Incheon, South Korea; and Series 3 on Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 in Singapore. The series culminates with the Championships on Dec. 10-15 in Budapest, Hungary, while the 46th SEA Age Group is slated on Dec. 6-8 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Paris Olympian Fil-Canadian Kayla Sanchez and Fil-American Jarod Hatch head the lists of foreign-based hopefuls including World Championships veteran and 2019 Manila SEA Games champion Fil-Am Chloe Isleta; Vietnam-based Fil-Briton Heather White, bronze medalist in the Asian Age-Group championships last February in New Clark City; and Fil-American Teia Salvino, the 2023 Cambodia Southeast Asian Games gold medal winner.
They vie for the slots also targeted by homegrown champions led by World Championships veteran and SEA Games gold medalist Xiandi Chua from Quezon City swim club, Behrouz Elite swimmers Jasmine Micaela Mojdeh and Hugh Antonio Parto, Ilustre’s swimming club top tanker Patricia Mae Santor along with veteran campaigners Gerald Jacinto and Jamesrey Ajido, the country’s first-ever Asian junior gold medal winner.
