Para swimmer Sabido aching for training resumption

With quarantine restrictions limiting training, it’s been a sink-or-swim situation for a lot of national athletes.

Roland Sabido, a Philippine Para Swim member, chooses the latter. “Sometimes, though, I am able to swim in open water,” said the Samar native.

Staying afloat, though, hasn’t been easy.

“Before the lockdowns, we were readying for the Asean Para Games here and the World Para Swimming Series in Singapore,” Sabido told the Inquirer in Filipino on Saturday.

The events were scrapped because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. But the health crisis did more than cancel competitions.

“Our biggest challenge right now is returning to our training pools,” he said.

Sabido and the rest of the national team usually hold their daily training sessions at La Consolacion College in Pasig. And with most of the para-athletes locked in their respective homes, Sabido is among those who are struggling to be creative with their training regimen.

But Sabido, who lost his left leg in a motorcycle accident in 2011, is a survivor.

“Maybe we’ll just have to get ready until the next Para Games come around, when this pandemic is over,” Sabido said.