By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
The Philippine rowing team started the year with a bang by reaping six silver and two bronze medals in the recent 2022 Asian Rowing Virtual Indoor Championships.
Tokyo Olympian Cris Nievarez bannered the crew by bagging the silver medal in the under-23 men’s 2000 meters with a time of 6 minutes and 25.90 seconds, six seconds behind eventual winner Wong Ho Yin of Hong Kong (6:19.60).
Kristin Paraon, meanwhile, clinched two silver medals in the U23 women’s 2000m in 7:47.80 and the 500m in 1:46:10.
Joachim De Jesus clocked 1:28.50 to settle for silver in the U23 men’s lightweight 500m, while Zuriel Sumintac also grabbed the silver medal in the lightweight men’s 500m with a time of 1:26.60.
Alyssa Go, likewise, contributed the other silver in the U23 lightweight women’s 500m in 1:45.20.
The two bronze medals came from Christian Joseph Jasmin in the U23 lightweight men’s 2000m (6:38.80) and Kharl Julianne Sha in the U23 lightweight women’s 500m (1:45.80).
The Philippine Rowing Association thanked organizers for staging this kind of tournament during the pandemic, where the team participated using their equipment at their athletes’ quarters.
They have been training under a bubble-type setup in preparation for physical tournaments that include the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam in May.
