The Philippines’ Behrouz Elite Swim Team Junior Squad made a splash at the 2020 Tokyo Swimming Winter Championships, winning 18 medals, including eight golds recently at the St. Mary’s International School in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan.
Cambodia-based Enkhmend Enkmend won three golds, while Brendan Viñas captured two, even as JahZeel Rosario, Dawn Martina Camacho and Ashley Anne Alvarez topped their respective age-group events to lead the 17-man Philippine Team to the delight of the Filipino community in Tokyo.
The 10-year-old Enkmend topped the boys’ 9-10 class 100m Breaststroke with a time of one minute and 33.75 seconds, beating Japanese Kenjiro Koya (1:39.34) and Sho Sendai (1:41.49).
The Grade 6 student at the Panyathip International School in Cambodia also won the 200-m Individual Medley (3:05.88) over Kenjiro Koya (3:10.41) and Zen Twohig (3:16.70), plus the 50-m breaststroke also against Koya. He was adjudged as the Most Outstanding Swimmer in the boys’ 9-10 category.
Viñas won in the boys’ 11-12 class 100-meter Fly and 50-meter Fly, and added the bronze medal in 100-m Breast, while Rosario, a Grade 8 student at the Bristol Integrated School, claimed the boys’ 13-14 class gold in the 100-m Breaststroke (1:17.14) against his twin brother Jah-Leel (1:26.60) and American Gray West (1:21.93).
Camacho topped the girls’ 11-12 100 Fly and finished second in the 50 Fly event, while Alvarez claimed the gold in the girls’ 12-13 class 200 Fly.
“It was a huge effort on the part of our young swimmers with the strict guidance of coach Rossbenor Antay and Johnson Maulion. We are so very proud. ‘Yun ang target namin talaga, ang makakuha sila ng experience,” said team manager Joan Mojdeh.
The Philippine B.E.S.T Team is affiliated with the Philippine Swimming Inc. and supported by Behrouz Persian Cuisine, the Filipino-Japanese Community headed by Myles Briones-Beltran and Mama Aki Marilyn Mabansag Yokokoj of Ihawan Shinjuku.