NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand – He calls them Olympians, and he’s bringing them to the next level for their stint on the Olympic stage in Beijing.
“These members of the 4x100 medley team are our Olympians, if we can just give them more, they’ll give more,” said swimming president Mark Joseph moments after the Philippines landed the last gold of the swimming competitions – in the men’s 4x100 medley relay.
The team, which won in 3 minutes, 49.28 seconds, is composed of Ryan Arabejo (backstroke), Miguel Molina (breaststroke), James Walsh (butterfly) and Daniel Coakley (freestyle).
Individually, they accounted for the five other individual gold medals. Arabejo won in the men’s 1,500m freestyle and 200m backstroke, Molina in the 200m breaststroke and 200 and 400m individual medley, Walsh in the 200m butterfly and Coakley in the 50m freestyle.
Counting the four gold medals assigned to the relays, the Philippines finished second in swimming with 8-3-7 gold-silver-bronze medals. Singapore had 11-9-1.
All four have qualified for the Beijing Olympics by virtue of their gold medal finish in the Games. Earlier, Molina already qualified in the 200IM while Arabejo also made it to the 1,500m freestyle event after making the cut in two international swimming competitions.
Coakley, only 18, rewrote the 50m freestyle record with a time 22.80. The other record breaker was Walsh, who set the new SEAG mark of 2:00.45 in winning the 200m butterfly.
Twelve new records were established in the swimming competitions, with Malaysia accounting for four. Daniel Bego claimed the new 100m butterfly record in 54.33 seconds and the 200m freestyle in 1:52.32. Khoo Cai Lin set the mark in the women’s 400m freestyle in 4:18.20 and the 800m freestyle in 8:47.80.
Thailand set new highs in the women’s 4x200 freestyle relay in 8:20.77 and the 4x100m freestyle relay in 3:51.86. Its anchor, Natthanan Krajang, posted the 200m freestyle mark of 2:03.00.
Singapore established a new record in the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay (3:26.70) and women’s 4x100 medley relay (4:13.18) while Nocolette Teo Wei shattered the old mark in the women’s 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:10.15.
Joseph said he hopes to be able to send six or seven more in the men’s events and two from the women’s group.
The swimming association has brought in Australian coach, Andy Astfalck, whose job is to improve the swimmers’ strokes and as well as their stamina. Asfalck, also a fitness coach in Down Under, is also training 10-14 year-olds, who, according to Joseph, should be ready for the 2012 Olympics.
Their training center is the TRACE College in Los Baños where the 2005 SEA Games swimming and diving events were conducted.
“My job is make them more efficient swimmers so they can go the next higher level,” said Asfalck, who added that, given four to five years, Filipino swimmers could reach higher standards in the sport.
“From the performance of the swimmers, we can see that our program is working,” said Joseph.
Joseph said the swimming program aims to give junior swimmers the basic training locally, after which the elite swimmers will be sent abroad on a swimming scholarship to train under international coaches.
Others who are also training abroad are Jackie Pangilinan at the Harvard University in Boston, Erica Totten at the University of Arkansas and Marichi Gandionco at the University of Nevada.
Being trained at the TRACE College are Nikita Dacera from Notre Dame of Dadiangas University, Ronald Guiriba from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Ernest Dee from La Salle, Denjylie Cordero, Nicole Santiago, Celina Gonzales and Kendrick Uy, who also trained with Arabejo in Florida under the Olympic Solidarity Movement.
“This is a long range program. While we are training our current swimmers, both here and abroad, we are trying to narrow the gap by training young swimmers for the future,” said Joseph.
Joseph said the association is undertaking a nationwide search for talents through the various swimming clubs and over 300 coaches throughout the country.
“We are giving our coaches mandated education and holding seminars so they train kids in their clubs,” he said.
https://www.philstar.com/sports/2007/12/13/33072/higher-standards-olympians-new-talents-set
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
RP swimmers end SEA Games campaign 2nd to Singaporeans
Singapore topped the five-day swimming competitions at the 24th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand with a haul of 11 gold, nine silver, and six gold medals for a total of 26.
But the Filipino swimmers finished second in their best outing yet since the 1991 SEA Games held in the Philippines, getting eight gold, three silver, and 18 bronze medals for a total of 18,according to a report issued by the delegation on Wednesday.
On the way to second place, two Filipino-American swimmers broke records set in previous SEA Games – Daniel Coakley in the 50-meter freestyle and James Walsh in the 200-meter butterfly.
Finishing third was swimming powerhouse Malaysia with seven gold, eight silver, and eight bronze medals for a total of 23. The Filipinos exceeded expectations.
Even host Thailand was lost in the wake of the gutsy Philippine performance and could only finish fourth, with five gold, seven silver, and eight bronze medals for a total of 20.
Swimming also produced the country's top individual performer in 23-year-old Miguel Molina, who won three individual golds – 200-meter breaststroke, 200-meter individual medley, and 40-m individual medley – and another gold as part of the team that topped the 4x100-meter medley relays.
In the last SEA Games in 2005, Molina won three golds in the same individual events.
Coakley also set a national record in the men's 50-meter freestyle, whose winning time of 22.76 also earned him a slot to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The great grandson of Olympian Teofilo Ildefonso, Coakley made it a double celebration in anchoring the men's relay team, breaking a 16-year drought in the event since Eric Buhain did the same with the RP quartet.
Powered by Buhain's six-gold haul, the Pinoy tankers had an outstanding 10-3-5 output in 1991, which proved to be the summit for this sport that saw several lean years following that outing.
Shortly after the swimming association was taken over by former RP standout Mark Joseph, the sport once again showed signs of life as the locals fished out a 4-5-6 output in the 2005 SEAG.
Sharing relay honors with the Fil-Hawaiian Coakley were Ryan Arabejo, who won two individual golds (200-meter backstroke) and Walsh (200-meter butterfly).
Walsh, a pre-med student at the University of Florida, showed he still has plenty to spare Tuesday evening a few minutes after winning the men's 200-meter butterfly, with the help of the RP medical team led by noted chiropractor Dr. Martin Camara.
Head coach Pinky Brosas, the architect of the swimming team's success in 2005, attributed the superb showing of his charges to meticulous planning, strategy, and lots of tender loving care.
"We were planning for this Games even after the 2005 SEAG. Even then that was a high level event and we knew our work was cut out for us," Brosas said. Brosas also mentored Buhain and Akiko Thomson in the late 80s and early 90s. "Most of these swimmers were together in Manila two years ago so they knew each other," Brosas said.
"There were some newcomers. Being the senior ones, we made Molina and Walsh as their leaders. With Miguel and JB (Walsh) showing the way, we tried to keep a family atmosphere among the coaches and swimmers. We bonded together. We stayed loose and tried to make it fun."
Brosas, a 1972 Munich Olympics veteran, also said they had to make tough decisions for the overall good of the team, like when the coaching staff decided to drop Kendrick Uy from the 100-meter freestyle leg of the 400-meter medley relay in favor of Coakley. "Everything we do here was to meet our team goals," Brosas said. "Everyone understands his or her role and we are fortunate because of that." - GMANews.TV
But the Filipino swimmers finished second in their best outing yet since the 1991 SEA Games held in the Philippines, getting eight gold, three silver, and 18 bronze medals for a total of 18,according to a report issued by the delegation on Wednesday.
On the way to second place, two Filipino-American swimmers broke records set in previous SEA Games – Daniel Coakley in the 50-meter freestyle and James Walsh in the 200-meter butterfly.
Finishing third was swimming powerhouse Malaysia with seven gold, eight silver, and eight bronze medals for a total of 23. The Filipinos exceeded expectations.
Even host Thailand was lost in the wake of the gutsy Philippine performance and could only finish fourth, with five gold, seven silver, and eight bronze medals for a total of 20.
Swimming also produced the country's top individual performer in 23-year-old Miguel Molina, who won three individual golds – 200-meter breaststroke, 200-meter individual medley, and 40-m individual medley – and another gold as part of the team that topped the 4x100-meter medley relays.
In the last SEA Games in 2005, Molina won three golds in the same individual events.
Coakley also set a national record in the men's 50-meter freestyle, whose winning time of 22.76 also earned him a slot to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The great grandson of Olympian Teofilo Ildefonso, Coakley made it a double celebration in anchoring the men's relay team, breaking a 16-year drought in the event since Eric Buhain did the same with the RP quartet.
Powered by Buhain's six-gold haul, the Pinoy tankers had an outstanding 10-3-5 output in 1991, which proved to be the summit for this sport that saw several lean years following that outing.
Shortly after the swimming association was taken over by former RP standout Mark Joseph, the sport once again showed signs of life as the locals fished out a 4-5-6 output in the 2005 SEAG.
Sharing relay honors with the Fil-Hawaiian Coakley were Ryan Arabejo, who won two individual golds (200-meter backstroke) and Walsh (200-meter butterfly).
Walsh, a pre-med student at the University of Florida, showed he still has plenty to spare Tuesday evening a few minutes after winning the men's 200-meter butterfly, with the help of the RP medical team led by noted chiropractor Dr. Martin Camara.
Head coach Pinky Brosas, the architect of the swimming team's success in 2005, attributed the superb showing of his charges to meticulous planning, strategy, and lots of tender loving care.
"We were planning for this Games even after the 2005 SEAG. Even then that was a high level event and we knew our work was cut out for us," Brosas said. Brosas also mentored Buhain and Akiko Thomson in the late 80s and early 90s. "Most of these swimmers were together in Manila two years ago so they knew each other," Brosas said.
"There were some newcomers. Being the senior ones, we made Molina and Walsh as their leaders. With Miguel and JB (Walsh) showing the way, we tried to keep a family atmosphere among the coaches and swimmers. We bonded together. We stayed loose and tried to make it fun."
Brosas, a 1972 Munich Olympics veteran, also said they had to make tough decisions for the overall good of the team, like when the coaching staff decided to drop Kendrick Uy from the 100-meter freestyle leg of the 400-meter medley relay in favor of Coakley. "Everything we do here was to meet our team goals," Brosas said. "Everyone understands his or her role and we are fortunate because of that." - GMANews.TV
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)