Duly recognized PH swim leaders to steer country back to glory

The Philippine Olympic Committee’s recognition of the Philippine Aquatics Inc. promises a new beginning, with a new set of leaders marking the start of the renaissance of the sport in the country.

But Michael Vargas, the new president of the association, admits that after all the setbacks in the sport, getting the country back to its medal-winning ways internationally will be anything but smooth.

“We took a hard route to recognition, so we’re expecting tougher routes ahead; it’s just the start,” Vargas said. “[But] we’re excited to reform the aquatics community.’’

Team Philippines was good for just a gold, three silver and three bronze medals in the last Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, and laid a big fat egg in the Hangzhou Asian Games in China.

Those tallies were a far cry from more than a decade back when Miguel Molina brought home at least three golds from the SEA Games pool and a couple more from less illustrious Filipino bets.

Swimming is the biggest sport in the Olympics, Asian Games and the SEA Games with at least 40 gold medals contested every time. INQ