By MARK REY MONTEJO
Two-time Olympian Kayla Sanchez added another feather to her cap after being named as Women’s Athlete of the Meet of the 2025 U Sports Swimming Championships in Toronto, Canada recently.
Sanchez, 23, made her University of British Columbia debut very memorable after the Fil-Canadian collected seven gold medals and setting two national records in women’s 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle where she timed 25.85 and 24.18 seconds, respectively.
Her teammate Finlay Knox achieved the same award in the men’s class in U Sports, which serves as a sport governing body for universities in Canada almost six decades ago.
Aside from her personal feat, Sanchez also powered the UBC Thunderbirds with 1472 points to capture the national championship, leading to the school 25th overall in women’s program.
UBC dethroned Toronto (708.5), which won the meet in three consecutive years, with McGill (936.5), Calgary (920.5), Alberta (366), and Western (264) finishing second, third and fourth.
The Thunderbirds’ men’s squad was successful as well, ruling the male division for its 19th championship.
Sanchez, an Olympic silver and bronze medalist, is expected to banner the Nationals when they compete in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
“I want to make a statement and win as many golds as I can in my first SEA Games,” said Sanchez, who represented the Philippines in her second consecutive stint in the quadrennial meet
“LA 28 is down the road so I’m gonna show the Philippines what I can do,” she added.
