CEBU CITY — With their respective Palarong Pambansa stints drawing to a close, swimmers Ivo Enot and Jasmine Mojdeh are now looking to join the national team that will compete in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand next year.
Mojdeh, one of the country’s best young swimmers, said she will be competing in the SEA Games national qualifiers this August in a bid to land a spot in the team that will vie in the biennial meet.
In her last stint in the Palaro, the 17-year-old tanker from Brent International School made her presence felt, clocking one minute and 19.72 seconds to reset the record and win the gold medal in the secondary girls’ 200-meter butterfly event.
“After Palaro, we have the SEA Games National Qualifiers. I’m trying to have a good time here and I’m using Palaro as a benchmark to get better times,” said Mojdeh, a bronze medalist in the girls’ 15-17 200-m butterfly in the 11th Asian Age Group Championships last February.
Enot, who is competing for the National Capital Region, is also using this prestigious multi-sport conclave to get himself familiarized with competing in the SEA Games.
The 17-year-old Ateneo de Manila High School swimmer is the new record holder in the secondary boys 100-meter backstroke event after clocking 59.34 for the gold medal.
“One of my main goals this season is to qualify for the SEA Games. I admit, going into next year’s SEA Games will be a hard challenge since I’ll be in first year college at that time and I’m still young,” said Enot, who looks up to national team member Jerard Jacinto.
“This Palaro competition will be an eye-opener for me for future competitions.”
The Philippines will have a tough act to follow after posting two gold, six silver and eight bronze medals in the previous edition of the SEA Games in Cambodia last year.