FIRST MEDALS. (From L-R) Filipino bets Rian Marco Tirol, Desirae Mangaoang and Athena Chan. Photo by Celest Flores-Colina
PHNOM PENH—Desirae Mangaoang kicked off the Philippines’ campaign in the 43rd Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championship with the country’s first gold medal Friday at Morodok Techo National Sports Complex here.
The 16-year-old Mangaoang, representing the Philippines for the first time, ruled the 16-18 girls’ 50-meter breaststroke event with a clocking of 33.20, just a fraction of a second faster than second placer Nisha Kijkanakorn of Thailand who came in at 33.21.
“It feels unreal, the race came by so fast. I barely knew what happened,” said the Fil-American swimmer, whose parents both hail from the Philippines.
“I felt really nervous at first because some of the other girls were taller and more built, but I tried not to get it to me.”
Team Philippines warming up for Day 1 of the 43rd SEA Age Group Swimming Championships here in Phnom Penh. 🇵🇭 🏊 pic.twitter.com/C64oYsnMNY
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) June 28, 2019
Athena Chang delivered Philippines’ first medal in the prestigious junior swimming tournament, taking home the bronze in the 13 and under girls’ 400-meter freestyle with a time of 4:40.88. Ai My Dang (4:32.46) and Thuy Thuy Le (4:33.51) claimed the 1-2 finish for Vietnam, last year’s top medalist.
Rian Marco Tirol, meanwhile, finished with the silver in the 16-18 boys’ 50m breaststroke event with a time of 29.37, behind Vietnam’s Thanh Bao Phan, who nabbed the gold at with a clocking of 29.25 seconds.
The 70-man strong Philippine delegation is looking to surpass last year’s medal haul of four gold, 10 silver, and 16 bronze medals in the three-day meet featuring 10 countries.