Manila: Boracay Island, Aklan Bella Aaliya Pano led a 1-2-3 Philippine finish in the girls' 16-17-year-old 3K festival event of the 4th Southeast Asia Open Water Swimming Championships on Saturday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Pano submitted a gold-medal time of 40 minutes and 11.49 seconds, followed by Dominique Gabrielle Lepaco with 50:25.27 and Samantha Dainyhel Jamelarin with 50:30.06. Sharing the spotlight was the oldest participant in the 3K men's festival event, 85-year-old Vernan Certeza of Jaro, Iloilo, who completed the event in just under 90 minutes.
In the mixed relay, the Philippines finished fourth in both six-kilometer categories, which were dominated by Vietnam. Under fair conditions at the 1.5km course overlooking the Boracay Newcoast, the Vietnamese teams excelled in the 14-18 years and 20-year-and-above divisions.
The team of Ngoc Vin Dho, Kha Ni Nguyen, Tu Uyen Le Huynh, and Van Dung Cao clocked one hour, 15 minutes, and 43 seconds to win the 14-18 category. Thailand took the silver with a time of 1:16.50, while Singapore secured the bronze with a time of 1:20.33.
In the 20-above class, the squad comprising Vin Thabao Nguyen, Thi Bac Ngoc Vo, Thi Thuy An Pan, and Gu Phuc Tran registered the fastest time of 1:13.20. Thailand and Indonesia finished second and third with times of 1:16.45 and 1:20.21, respectively.
The Philippine team of Alexander Chu, Nuchs Veronica Ibit, Graziella Sophia Ato, and Anton Paulo Dominick Della clocked 1:22.34 in the 14-18 category, while Zhyhed Pheonix Pajas, Makayla Bettina Fetalvero, Stacey Arabelle Bee, and Rio Stephen Coliyay submitted the same time in the 20-above category. Della expressed his efforts to catch up in the last leg of the relay, stating, "I tried my best to catch up in the last leg of the relay but the Singaporean swimmer ahead of me was just too far ahead. Perhaps, if we had more time to train together, we could have performed better."
On Friday, Della secured a silver medal in the men's 10km 18-19 with a time of 2:20.72, following Indonesia's Mochammad Taufik Akbar, who finished in 2:06.85 and was also the Open class winner.
Philippine Aquatics, Inc. secretary general Eric Buhain commented on the performances, noting that many local swimmers are still transitioning from the shorter distances of indoor swimming to the longer open water discipline. "We are sowing seeds for the future with these young swimmers, an investment in open water swimming that will pay off in the long run as we aim to aggressively catch up with the rest of the region," Buhain said. He added, "Given time, we aim to be at par, if not better, than our Southeast Asian neighbors."
