Jennuel Booh De Leon and Arabella Nadeen Taguinota scooped gold medal each to highlight the Philippine junior swimming team’s successful campaign in the recently concluded 45th Southeast Age Group Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia.
De Leon ruled the boys’ 16-18 class 50m butterfly while Taguinota topped the girls’ 14-15 100m breaststroke to lead the country’s 16 medal haul that also included a bronze in diving.
De Leon, a 16-year-old swimmer from Aklan clocked 25.40 seconds to beat Malaysian swimmer Bernie Elle Yang Lee (25.49) and Thanaseat Thanonthisitsakul of Thailand (25.72) to nab the country’s first gold while the Taguinota bested her rivals with a time of 1:13.40, winning over Vietnamese Thuy Hien Nguyen (1:14.07) and Natthakita Leekitchakorn of Thailand (1:14.50).
Joseph Reynaldo, on the other hand, delivered the Nationals’ lone medal in diving in the 16-18 Boys’ platform event.
De Leon also won a bronze in the 50m freestyle (24.35) while other medalists included Jamesray Ajido who won three silver medals in the 50m butterfly (25.93), 100m fly (57.12) and 100m backstroke (1:00.68), all in boys’ 14-15 category.
Estifano Ramos gave the country’s fourth silver clocking 2:10.39 in the boys 16-18 200m Back.
Aishel Evangelista collected three bronzes in the boys 13-under 200m free (2:05.12), 200m Individual Medley (2:19.83) and 400m IM (4:56.01).
Other medalists were Clark Ken Apuada in the boys 14-15 50m free (24.64); Jalil Taguinod in the boys 16-8 50m breast (29.99); Ivo Enot in the 100m back (59.21); Peter Cyrus Dean in the 50m back (27.38) and Mishka Sy in the girls 16-18 200m IM (2:23.29).
Philippine Aquatics, Inc (PAI) Secretary General and Batangas 1st District Congressman Eric Buhain lauded the fruitful campaign of the country despite only sending a lean 18-man team in the regional swimfest.
