Sixty-one Filipino swimmers based abroad have signed up to join approximately 500 local hopefuls in the Philippine Aquatics, Inc. (PAI) National Trials – 50-meter (long course) and 25-meter (short course) Swimming Championships, scheduled for August 15-18 and August 20-23, respectively, at the Teofilo Ildefonso swimming pool in Malate, Manila.
PAI Secretary General and Batangas 1st District Rep. Eric Buhain expressed overwhelming enthusiasm for the positive response from Filipino-foreign athletes. This development validates the association’s goal of uniting the swimming community and fostering inclusivity in building a strong national team.
“We are pleasantly surprised by this development,” Buhain said.
“We welcome these athletes with open arms and appreciate their desire to join our national pool. They will now undergo evaluation by PAI. If they qualify, they will be included in the national team. We will no longer rely solely on reports about their speed from scouts and managers; we must see them compete. The same standard applies to our homegrown swimmers from across the Philippines,” added the two-time Olympian and Philippine Sports Hall-of-Famer.
The National Trials will determine the members of the Philippine team for the World Aquatics World Cup series (25-meter short course), the 46th Southeast Asian Age Group Championships, and the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore (50-meter long course) next year.
The World Cup series includes competitions in Shanghai, China (October 18-20), Incheon, South Korea (October 24-26), and Singapore (October 31-November 2), culminating in the Championships in Budapest, Hungary (December 10-15). The 46th SEA Age Group Championships will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 6-8.
Leading the foreign-based hopefuls are Paris Olympian Fil-Canadian Kayla Sanchez and Fil-American Jarod Hatch. They will be joined by World Championships veteran and 2019 Manila SEA Games champion Fil-Am Chloe Isleta; multi-titled junior internationalist, Vietnam-based Fil-Briton Heather White, a 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 medalist.
These athletes will compete against top local swimmers, including World Championships veteran and SEA Games gold medalist Xiandi Chua, Jasmine Micaela Mojdeh, Patricia Mae Santor, Hugh Antonio Parto, and veteran internationalists Gerald Jacinto and Jamesrey Ajido, the country’s first-ever Asian junior gold medalist.
“Everyone must compete,” Buhain emphasized. “The presence of elite swimmers like Kayla Sanchez and Jarod Hatch will inspire our young athletes.”
