MANILA, March 1 ------ Two young swimmers who shone in the Batang Pinoy National Championships have made their mark in 11th Asian Age Group Championships. Heather White and Jamesray Mishael Ajido placed third in their respective events 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 1:03.09 in the girls 15-17 100m butterfly event. 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, 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 Greenhills.
White had won seven gold medals in the Batang Pinoy competitions in December, while Ajido emerged as the most bemedalled athlete of his class. "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," Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richard Bachmann said.
Japan leads the medal tally board with 20 golds, 11 silvers and 4 bronzes. Kazakhstan is second with 10 golds, 7 silvers and 2 bronzes.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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