By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Olympians Jasmine Alkhaldi and Kayla Sanchez banner the seven-player Philippine squad when the swimming competition kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 11, in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Alkhaldi and Sanchez both aim for return trips to the Olympics as the competition serves as a venue to earn berths to the Paris Games slated July 26 to Aug. 11.
The 30-year-old Alkhaldi competed in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics while Sanchez, 22, was part of the Canadian relay squad that won the 4×100-meter freestyle relay silver medal and the 4x100m medley relay bronze before deciding to compete for the PH team.
Joining Alkhaldi and Sanchez are Teia Salvino, Xiandi Chua, Thanya Dela Cruz, Jarod Hatch and Jerard Jacinto.
Swimmers needed to reach the respective qualifying time standards to make it to the Olympics. World Aquatics, however, also give universality slots of one male and one female to countries with no Olympic qualifiers.
But expect all seven Filipino swimmers to go all out not only with high hopes of making a huge splash but also in improving their respective times.
First to see action will be Hatch in the men’s 50m butterfly and the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay squad on Sunday.
On Monday, Feb. 12, it would be the turn of Dela Cruz (women’s 100m breaststroke), Jacinto (men’s 100m backstroke) and Salvinio (women’s 100m back).
Salvino returns on Feb. 13 for the women’s 200m free race, before Sanchez starts her bid in the women’s 100m free on Feb. 15 along with the women’s 4x200m freestyle team.
Alkhaldi, meanwhile, opens her campaign on Feb. 16 in the women’s 50m fly, along with Chua (women’s 200m back) and Hatch (men’s 100m fly).
Feb. 17 will have the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, Dela Cruz (women’s 50m breast), Jacinto (men’s 50m back), and Alkhaldi (women’s 50m free).
Chua (women’s 400m medley) and the women’s 4x100m medley team compete on Feb. 18.
The country sent Remedy Rule and Luke Gebbie at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with Rule managing to advance to the women’s 200m butterfly semifinals.
But it was way back in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics that the country last won a medal in the sport courtesy of Teofilo Yldefonso’s bronze medal feat in the men’s 200m breaststroke.
