Chua sets new Phl record

Southeast Asian Games champion Xiandi Chua established a new national record while representing the country in the 2024 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships on Friday in Adelaide, Australia.

The 23-year-old De La Salle University student clocked four minutes and 45.41 seconds to finish third behind Tara Kinder of the Melbourne Victoria Club (4:41.95) and Amelie Smith of ROCKC (4:44.09) in the second heat of the 400-meter women’s individual medley.

Her clocking, however, shattered the six-year-old national record of 4:46.08 set by Georgina Peregrina in the New Zealand National Championships on 5 October 2018.

Chua also surpassed the Qualifying Time Standard for the World Cup Short Course Championship set from 10 to 15 December in Budapest, Hungary.

The Philippine Aquatics Association Inc. (PAI) lauded Chua for her feat.

“On behalf of PAI president Miko Vargas, the PAI leadership extends its heartfelt congratulations to Xiandi (Chua),” PAI secretary general Eric Buhain said.

“Her latest success will inspire young swimmers and her teammates for the coming World Cup Series.”

Chua made it to the national team that is bound for the World Series after collecting 723 World Aquatics points during the National Trials last month.

She will be joined in the women’s squad by former Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Chloe Isleta, Filipino-American Cristina Miranda Renner and Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh.

The men’s team is comprised of Joshua Gabriel Ang, Miguel Barreto, Arizona State University mainstay Kyle Gerard Valdez, Rian Marco Tirol, Metin Junior Mahmutoglu, Rafael Barreto, Jerard Dominic Jacinto, Nathan Jao , Lucio Cuyong II, Raymund Paloma, Albert Jose Amaro II and Robin Christopher Domingo.