CAPAS, Tarlac – The country tries to end a 10-year gold medal drought as Filipinos tankers spring into action on Wednesday at the start of the 30th Southeast Asian Games swimming championships at the impressive New Clark City Aquatic Center here.
The last time PH tankers won in the SEA Games was way back in 2009 when Miguel Molina won a pair in the men’s 200 and 400-meter individual medley while Daniel Coakley and Ryan Arabejo had one each in the men’s 50-meter freestyle and men’s 1,500-meter freestyle, respectively.
There will be seven golds at stake in Day 1 of swimming, with Filipino-Americans James Deiparine and Remedy Rule seeking to break that drought , being among the favorites in their respective events. The heats begin at 9 a.m. while the finals start at 6 p.m.
Between them, Rule gets first crack as she competes in the women’s 200-meter butterfly heats at 9:35 a.m. while Deiparine, a double silver medalist in the 2017 Malaysia SEA Games, takes to the pool at 10:10 a.m. in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke heats.
A University of Texas varsity mainstay, Rule holds the national record in the 200 fly of two minutes and 11.38 seconds set last July in the world swimming championships in Gwangju, South Korea, which is faster than the gold-medal time of 2:12.03 set by Singapore’s Quah Jing Wen in the 2017 Malaysia SEAG.
Deiparine, who bagged two silvers in Kuala Lumpur two years ago, also holds the PH mark in the breast stroke of 1:02.00, slightly off the winning time of 1:01.76 booked by Indonesia’s Nathaniel Gagagarin in the 29th edition of the sportfest.
The former California Polytechnic University swimming ace narrowly lost by a touch to the Indon in his SEAG debut, settling for silver in 1:02.76.
Rule will also see action in the women’s 100-meter freestyle heats, joining two-time Olympian Jasmine Alkhaldi in the heats at 10:20 a.m.
Fellow Olympic veteran Jessie Khing Lacuna and US-trained Miguel Barreto open the PH campaign in the men’s 400-meter freestyle at 9 a.m. Barreto will also compete in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle.
Others seeing action for the country are Jonathan Cook (men’s 100-meter breast stroke), Jerard Jacinto and Jaden Olson (men’s 100-meter backstroke), Jean Pierre Khouzam, Barreto, Lacuna, Maurice Sacho Illustre (men’s 4×200-meter relay), Rosalee Sta. Ana (women’s 200 fly) and Chloe Isleta and Xiandi Chua (women’s 200 individual medley).
