Chua splashes way to more swimming World Cup slots

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Aquatics Inc. (PAI) hailed the national team’s decent showing at the prestigious World Aquatics-sanctioned World Cup Qualifying Series (short course) in Singapore over the weekend.

The Filipino swimmers recovered from unnoticeable performances in Incheon, Korea Series a week earlier. This time, 2023 Cambodia Southeast Asian Games record-holder (200m backstroke) Xiandi Chua claimed additional slots for this year’s World Cup Championships in Budapest, Hungary, passing the Qualifying Time Standard (B) clocking with 2:09.71 in the women’s 200m backstroke.

The 24-year-old Business Entrepreneurship senior at De La Salle University got her first QTB for the World Cup with a time of 4:45.41 in the 400m Individual Medley while campaigning for the Philippine Team in the 2024 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships last September in Adelaide, Australia.

Her time also broke Georgina Peregrina's 4:46.08 Philippine record at the New Zealand National Championships on October 5, 2018.

"We're far from our ultimate goal, but we're moving in that direction. What we're experiencing right now is the usual lows and highs of any sport, we win some and lose some. Wins like this, however small, are still important to us because it means we're capable of giving out the best shots at any opportunity. The road to success is never easy, but our swimmers are taking that road,” said PAI Secretary-General Batangas 1st District Rep. Eric Buhain.

Vietnam (2022) SEA Games gold medalist Chloe Isleta will be joining Chua for the World Cup slated December 10-15 with two QTB marks — 1: O1.59 in the women’s 100m Individual Medley and 59.80 seconds in 100m backstroke — she earned while campaigning in the Puerto Rico International Short Course Championship on October 20

Aside from the QTB mark in Singapore, Chua along with 18-year-old Jasmine Mojdeh made it to the finals in the 200m butterfly and finished seventh and eighth place, respectively clocking 2:14.11 and 2:16.58.

Likewise, Joshua Ang, Rian Marco Adiong Tirol, and Filipino-American Miranda Renner established a new Philippine record during the three-day campaign by the Nationals coached by Olympian Ryan Arabejo and Ramil Ilustre.

The 20-year-old Ang registered 53.65 seconds in the men’s 100m butterfly; Tirol made the mark in the 50m breaststroke with a time of 27.56 seconds, while the 21-year-old Renner established a new PH record in the women’s 50m butterfly clocking 26.75 seconds during the Cup series in Incheon, South Korea.