Heather White and Jamesray Michael Ajido plucked bronze medals to kick off the country’s campaign in the 11th Asian Age Group Championships late Wednesday at the New Clark City Aquatics Center in Capas, Tarlac
White, a 16-year-old Filipino-British currently living in Vietnam, registered a personal best time of one minute and 3.09 seconds in the girls 15-17 100-meter butterfly event to send the host country to the medal table.
Hong Kong’s Hoi Ching Yeung captured the gold medal in 1:00.50, smashing Japanese Aki Obata’s 1:00.73 record set in 2009, while teammate Sze Ki Mok got the silver medal in 1:02.73.
“I am so happy, before the race I wasn’t expecting much. I was still recovering from the 50m freestyle so to have that big win after my loss, it was so amazing,” said White, who clocked 26.68 to finish fifth in the 50m freestyle behind Kazakhstan’s Sofiya Abubakirova (26.25), Chinese Taipei’s Pei Hsuan Li (26.28), Japan’s Rimika Taira (26.31) and Hong Kong’s Gilaine Ma (26.54).
Ajido of Antipolo City splashed his way to the bronze medal in the boys 12-14 50m freestyle with a time of 24.34 seconds, a personal best and a national record.
Japan’s Toya Hirata captured the gold medal in 23.21, a new meet record that broke the 24.03 time set by compatriot Yuga Takashima in 2019.
“This is special for me, I am proud to win a medal for the Philippines,” said Ajido, a Grade 8 student at La Salle Green Hills. He won the 100m butterfly and 100m backstroke gold medals in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 99.
“I dedicate this victory to the Lord and my family,” added the 15-year-old who pocketed five gold and one bronze medals at the Batang Pinoy National Championships last December.
Philippines Sports Commission Richard “Dickie” Bachmann personally witnessed the feats together with sports commissioner Matthew “Fritz” Gaston.
“I am proud that the Philippines finally made it to the medal mark in this tournament. Congratulations to all our national athletes, this kind of tournament is a great instrument to further improve in the sport,” Bachmann said.
Bachmann also inspected the facilities of the Aquatics Center including the training areas for swimming and diving participants.
The PSC head expressed his commendation to the Philippine Aquatics, Inc. who made the country capable of accommodating this kind of huge task.
