LAOAG. — For a while, swimming ace Sophia Garra was torn between her current sport and taekwondo, something that grabbed her attention during the pandemic, which she – pardon the pun – took like fish to water.
In the end, her passion for swimming prevailed and her excellence in the water sport continued Wednesday as she grabbed two more gold medals, one in record-breaking time, in the 65th Palarong Pambansa at the Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr. pool here.
Carrying the banner of the National Capital Region, Garra, 12, set her second record in as many days, ruling the girls’ elementary 200-meter individual medley in two minutes and 31.41 seconds, way ahead of NCR teammate and runner-up Adrienne Reese Tacuboy (2:41.09).
The incoming La Salle-Araneta Grade 7 student broke the seven-year standard of 2:33.12 set by NCR’s Michaela Jasmine Mojdeh in the 2018 edition in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Her attempt at a third record fell short, but still won the 100-meter freestyle in 1:02.51, just a hairline short of Western Visayas’s Alexei Cabayaran’s record 1:02.25 set at the 2019 edition in Davao City.
She emerged as the most bemedalled swimmer after two days of action with five mints, matching the number of golds won by elementary school gymnast Armand Hernandez Jr., while four athletes have four golds apiece.
Among them was elementary school swimmer Titus Sia, who raised his perfect tally to four by winning the boys elementary 100-meter freestyle event in 59.33 seconds.
They also included NCR’s CJ Pernia, who added the men’s floor exercise and vault to his collection at the Ilocos Norte National High School gym early in the day after capturing the men’s individual all-around and leading the NCR team to the gold the previous day.
The Pasig-based Escuela De Sto. Rosario high schooler topped the floor exercise with 12.950 points and the vault with 12.325 points while schoolmate Hilarion Palles III topped the pommel horse (8.850) and horizontal bar (8.650) for a pair of individual mints plus another gold in the in the team all-around.
Pernia, who also had a silver in the horizontal bar (8.600), earlier garnered 43.90 points for the individual all-around mint, relegating Palles III to silver (42.50). while Ilocos Norte’s Lance Lyam Bartolome (40.150) settled for bronze.
Arnis campaigners Shayne Mark Monreal of Northern Mindanao (Region 10) and Airelle Ashley of Caraga (Region 13) showed grace and athleticism in garnering four golds apiece in the elementary boys and girls division of anyo (forms).
A student of Intao Central School, Monreal was tops in the synchronized anyo single weapon, synchronized double weapon, synchronized likha anyo espada y daga and teamed up with schoolmate Kaitlyn Quijano in the synchronized double weapon for the mint in the mixed event.
Just as prolific was Ampayon Elementary School student Airelle Ashley, who snared the individual likha espada y daga, likha anyo single weapon, synchronized double weapon, and synchronized likya anyo espada y daga.
“I am happy that I won two golds today, one of them in record time, but how I wish we did break records,” said Garra, who took to taekwondo just to keep fit during the global virus crisis, winning a poomsae (forms) online and earned a brown belt for her efforts.
Garra said her interest in swimming was rekindled when she won three golds and two silvers at a meet staged by her former school, Diliman Preparatory, owned by former lawmaker Nikki Coseteng and was declared its Most Outstanding Swimmer.
Under the tutelage of Sydney Olympian and Waverrunners Swimming Club coach Jenny Guerrrero since December 2023, the age group tanker flourished and won five golds and two silvers in the Palaro in Cebu City last year.
“Sweeping all her seven events – five individual and two relays – is the goal,” the bespectacled coach said, confident that her prized ward could pull off the feat.
She could only admire the dedication, discipline and focus of Garra, who qualified to see action in three backstroke events in the Southeast Asian Age-group Swimming Championships opening on June 19 in Singapore.
“We have had to plan her (Garra’s) program carefully so she can taper and peak at the right time, since we had our SEA Age qualifiers early this month, now the Palaro, and the SEA Age meet in Singapore in late June,” Guerrero said.
Garra is set to compete in the 4×50-meter freestyle relay on Thursday before capping her competition with the women’s individual 50-meter freestyle race on the last day of the meet.
