By MARK REY MONTEJO
Anton Ignacio, who became a champion at a tender age of 13, proved that anything is possible if you pursue your passion with great love, resolve, and determination.
The son of Robert and Joyce proved this after outshining his foreign rivals in the Pro Am Roundabout 1100 Stock 2024 International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) World Finals held in Arizona, USA recently.
His success, however, did not come without overcoming rough waters.
The 18-year-old Ignacio has to balance his studies while doing his training in the physically driven sport that is gradually rising here in the country.
“I have to sacrifice my time with my family and friends, and also I had to miss some of my subjects,” said Ignacio in a press conference. “For me, all of this is worth it, all the hard work and sacrifices.”
Despite the daunting task at hand, Ignacio shrugged off boiling-like pressure to deliver a superb performance and put the Philippines back on the international jet ski map.
“It’s a feeling that will forever stick to me, because more than the win, I feel like I made a lot of people proud back home. I know that I’ve been working hard for it, and that was a really great moment for me,” said Ignacio who is now a two-time world champion after also previously ruling the novice category of the same event.
His skills and enthusiasm to jet ski came from someone really dear to him, his dad Robert who was once a national champion.
Anton also has champion mentors, including three-time world champion Paul Del Rosario.
Robert shared that his wife Joyce was too afraid to let her son try jet skiing in their beach house in Mindoro where Anton, who was 10 or 11 then , tried the sport for the first time.
“And then we got a jet ski for old time’s sake. So, si Anton, nag-swimming palang sya do’n. Sabi ko pa, ‘Anton, you want to ride?’ Umiiyak, ayaw niya dahil baka bilisan ko raw [kaya] sabi ko, hindi bagalan ko lang. So ikot kami,” Robert said.
“Pagkatapos sabi niya, kung pwede niya raw ba ma-drive. Tapos sabi ko sige, dito ako sa likod [and] after nun, nagustuhan, then the following day, mag-isa na siyang umiikot sa harap ng bahay. After one week, nago-offshore siya sa kabilang island,” he continued.
