JASMINE Alkhaldi hopes to finally win a SEA Games gold medal.
CAPAS CITY — Competition in the medal-rich swimming fires off today at the New Clark City Aquatics Center with Singapore trying to keep its lofty status as the best in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region.
Led by Olympian Joseph Schooling, Singapore pocketed 19 gold medals in the last staging of the competition held in Kuala Lumpur and it is once more the country to watch in this six-day event that offers a total of 38 gold medals.
The 24-year old Schooling, who beat the legendary Michael Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, is entered in the 100-meter freestyle, 50-meter and 100-meter butterfly and in three relay events.
The Philippines will be pinning its hopes to SEA Games veteran Jasmine Alkhaldi and a pair of Filipino-foreign tankers in James Deiparine, who won silver in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke in Kuala Lumpur, and Remedy Rule, the country’s top bet in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly.
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“Competing here is very special because I was born and raise here and seeing people in the crowd, that’s special,” said Alkhaldi, a two-time Olympian, who will be swimming in her sixth SEA Games but never won a gold medal.
“My preparation here started after the last SEA Games. My goal is to bring honor and inspire more people here.”
Seven gold medals are at stake in Day 1 of the swimming competition; men’s 400-meter free, women’s 200-meter butterfly, men’s 100-meter breaststroke, women’s 200-meter individual medley, men’s 100-meter backstroke, women’s 100-meter freestyle and men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
The Philippine swimming team is sending a full roster here, 14 in men and 13 in women, as the country tries to end a 10-year gold-medal drought in the biennial meet.
The last time the Philippines scooped golds in the 11-nation conclave was in 2009 in Vientiane, Laos.
The Filipino swimmers brought home four mints courtesy of Daniel Coakley in 50-meter freestyle, Ryan Arabejo in 1500-meter freestyle and Miguel Molina in 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley.
But it was downhill from there as the national swimmers failed to win a single gold medal.
Aside from Schooling, Zheng Wen, Ting Wen and Jing Wen are the swimmers to watch in the Singaporean squad while Olympian Thi Anh Vien Nguyen will banner Vietnam, which won 10 golds, seven silvers and six bronze medals in Kuala Lumpur.
