Garra trains sights on SEA Age Group meet

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY — Swimmer Sophia Garra sets her sights on making quite a splash in the 46th Southeast Asia (SEA) Age Group Swimming Championships in Bangkok from 6 to 8 December after her four-gold showing at the Batang Pinoy National Championships.

Garra told DAILY TRIBUNE that she would bring the lessons and experiences she learned at the Batang Pinoy during the Thai swimfest.

The Malabon City tanker emerged as the Most Outstanding Swimmer in the girls’ 12 to 13 division after winning the 200-meter individual medley with a time of two minutes and 31.82 seconds, 100-m freestyle with 1:02.61 minutes, 200-m backstroke with 2:30 minutes, and 100-m backstroke with 1:08.77 minutes.

The only event where she didn’t get a medal was the girls’ 12 to 13 200-meter breaststroke where she finished fourth with a time of 2:59.89 minutes.

“My coach told me to focus on the competition regardless of what happens. I just need to focus on my swim and not worry about the others,” Garra said.

“I sometimes get rattled and my performance gets affected.”

Garra’s coach, 2000 Sydney Olympics swimmer Jenny Guerrero, said with her ward’s impressive showing in the Batang Pinoy and the recent Palarong Pambansa in Cebu City last July, she hopes she can maintain her momentum.

“She leaves on 3 December and this is her biggest tournament of the year. This is her first trip,” Guerrero said.

“This year is a lot more than I expected. Hopefully, she has a good performance in the upcoming SEA Age because she had a lot of competitions.”