After Kayla Sanchez, it’s Jarod Hatch’s turn to take the plunge as he competes in the men’s 100-meter butterfly event of the Paris Olympics at the Paris La Defense Arena on Friday.
Competition starts at 5 p.m. (Manila time) with the Filipino-American tanker looking to make an impact in his first stint in the Summer Games.
Only the best 16 times in the heats will move onto the semifinal, which will be held on Saturday at 3 a.m. (Manila time).
The 25-year-old Filipino-American tanker made it to the Games as a wildcard bet. He spent a week in the Philippine Olympic Committee-organized training camp in Metz before returning to Los Angeles to apply finishing touches on his training.
He, however, is facing a huge challenge as he faces the world’s best swimmers in Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Caeleb Dressel of the United States and the 19th Asian Games top three finishers Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan, Wang Changhao of China, and Adilbek Mussin of Kazakhstan.
Hatch said he wants to duplicate the feat of Filipino-Canadian Kayla Sanchez, who advanced to the semifinals after posting a record-breaking performance in the women’s 100-meter freestyle last Tuesday.
“I would love to make it to semifinal and come back. I would love to win the whole thing,” said Hatch, who aims to become the first Filipino swimmer to reach the semifinal of the Summer Games after Roosevelt Abdulgafur advanced to the next round of the men’s 100-meter freestyle of the 1968 Mexico Olympics.