By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Ernie Gawilan and Angel Otom became the first Filipino para athletes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games after earning berths in their respective swimming events.
According to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Gawilan and Otom earned tickets through the Standard Slot Qualification Allocation Method where a National Paralympic Committee is given one male and one female slot to the Paralympics based on their respective world rankings.
The invitation letter for both Gawilan and Otom’s qualification was sent by the International Paralympic Committee.
This would be the first time for Otom to compete in the Paralympics, and third for Gawilan after competing in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo editions.
The Summer Paralympics will be held from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 — just a few weeks after the Summer Games slated on July 26 to Aug. 11.
Prior to the Paralympic qualification, Otom and Gawilan competed in last year’s World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Otom also clinched three gold medals at last year’s ASEAN Para Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia while Gawilan was known to win the historic gold medal in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta.
The country had six qualifiers in the Tokyo Paralympics including Gawilan but only three competed after the other three tested positive for Covid-19.
