a true champion

February 1st, 12:15am January 31st, 8:18pm Eric BuhainOne stroke at a time

After retiring from competitive swimming in 1994, I went into coaching for seven years and served in the government until 2010.

All though those years, many news outfits would come to me on a regular basis and report (more like congratulating me) that my 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly records in the high school division of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, were not yet broken.

I don’t know if I should be proud of that achievement because for me, records are meant to be broken.

I guess the reason why they were relaying me that news was to flatter me – but the reality is that it was really a disturbing development.

I have to admit that at the time I set the record, I was very proud of my achievement. But when I attended college in the United States two years later, I learned that the records still stand and nobody has yet to break it. I started to feel uneasy.

Every year, sportswriters covering the UAAP would tell me that those records still stand. And every time they would ask for a short statement from me, I always say the same thing – records are meant to be broken.

The last of my swimming record was broken 25 years after I set it. Yes, it stood for 25 years when I was already a father of three.

With this, I always question myself if I should be proud of my achievements. Did I encourage the next generation of swimmers or did I discourage them for setting such high standards?

But eventually, there are two thoughts that comfort me whenever I think of the impact of those records.

First is that I am sure that the former record holder who holds the record prior to me breaking it was expecting that there would come a time and his record would be broken given the competitive nature of swimming.

And second is that I am also sure that in the back of his head, he was glad that someone else broke his record, a sign that Philippine is progressing and he had contributed to that development.

I remember setting my first national record in the 200-meter backstroke when I was 14 years old.

The holder was Ral Rosario, who was an idol of mine for being an Asian Games gold medalist in the 200-meter freestyle, which is something I was dreaming of achieving.

I remember that I came up to him right after the race — not because I broke his record — but because I really wanted to shake his hand and take a picture with him. I was such a fan back then as I am still up to this day.

We became great friends and he even asked me to be the godfather of his son. So, we are now “kumpadres.”

Whenever I recall those moments, I remember sensing Ral’s joy over the fact that there was a young swimmer who responded to the challenge of breaking his record.

Ral is a true champion because of his selfless belief that once his record was broken, he can be assured that Philippine swimming will be improving. He puts swimming on top of his own personal achievements.

The day I heard that my last record was broken was a bittersweet moment for me.

I was glad that it was finally broken after 25 years, but was also sad because I wasn’t there to shake the hand of the boy who broke it. I wanted to inspire that boy to push harder and strive to dream big for the good of Philippine swimming.

Both Ral and I would have wanted to shake the hand of that boy.

Unfortunately, I avoided watching the UAAP swimming competitions in the latter part of those 25 years because I always feel sad. And because of that, I wasn’t able to witness that boy compete and break my record and, sadly, I didn’t even get the chance to get his name.

I hope in the future, I would get the chance to meet and personally congratulate him.

That boy proved that records can be broken and should be broken for Philippine swimming to regain its “golden” tradition in the SEA Games and Asian Games.

In a press conference that I attended with other swimming greats like Ral, Akiko (Thomson) and Pinky (Brosas), a reporter asked us if we are disheartened by the challenges we’re facing to bring back the golden tradition of Philippine swimming in the Southeast Asian Games.

And we said that giving up is unacceptable to us because if it is; we would have never become Olympians.

We believe that the swimmers under our guidance will deliver medals in this year’s SEA Games. At the same time, they will also represent the next generation of Filipino swimmers who also become champions.

It will be their way to pay it forward for the next generation.