Young Pinoy tankers home with 4 golds

Filipino-British swimmer Bhay Newberry and Rafael Barreto impressed in the recent 41st Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, where the Philippines brought home four gold medals.

Newberry, the 100-meter backstroke champion in the Palarong Pambansa, ruled her favorite event in 1 minute and 5.35 seconds to handily beat Le Phuong Thao Nguyen of Vietnam (1:09.15) and teammate Zoe Marie Hilario (1:09.16).

The 16-year-old Barreto prevailed in the 100m butterfly in 55.93 seconds, just a split second ahead of Azel Zelmi of Indonesia (56.20s) and Palarong Pambansa top swimmer Sacho Ilustre (56.38).

Regina Maria Paz Castrillo added another gold medal with a narrow 28.51-second victory in the 50m fly over Adinda Larasati Dewi of Indonesia (28.66) before Newberry, 15, also ruled the 50m backstroke.