PARIS — Para swimmer Ernie Gawilan is taking no chances in his farewell event at the 17th Paralympic Games.
Gawilan missed the medal race in the men’s 200-meter individual medley SM7 and he intends to atone for that in the 400m freestyle S7 race on Monday at the Paris La Defense Arena here.
He’s Asia’s best in the said event, capturing the gold medal twice in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia and the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, China.
“Maayos ang pakiramdam ko. Bigay todo na ako dito,’’ said Gawilan, who lacked both legs since birth along with an underdeveloped left arm.
He reached the wall sixth in his heat during the 200m IM preliminaries, missing the chance for a medal.
Gawilan, a four-time Asian Para Games gold medalist, has been bunched with Argentina’s Inaki Basiloff, Ukraine’s Andrii Trusov, Cuba’s Yosjaniel Hernandez Velez and Yurii Shenhur, another Ukranian, in the 400m freestyle.
Basiloff nosed out Trusov for the gold medal in their 200m IM encounter over the weekend.
Para swimming coach Tony Ong said he expected Gawilan to qualify to the 200m IM final but faced problems during the breaststroke sequence of the event and didn’t force his way.
“Anyway, we tried to use this event as part of the tuneup for his favorite event, the 400m free on Monday,’’ said Ong.
Should Gawilan get through the heats, the medal race for the 400m free is set early Tuesday morning.
As the Games approach the halfway mark, the Philippines have four more athletes capable of delivering a medal in the nation’s campaign facilitated by the Philippine Paralympic Committee and fully backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Para swimmer Angel Mae Otom will open her bid in the women’s 50m backstroke S5 on Tuesday and wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan steps into the Stade de France anew for the qualifying heats of the men’s 100m T52 race on Thursday.
