VIENTIANE – Miguel Molina, at 25 way past his prime by the standards of the sport, tries one last fling at glory as he leads the country’s quest for gold medals in the medal-rich sport at the start of swimming competitions in the Southeast Asian Games tomorrow at the National Sports Complex.
Seven of the 32 gold medals are at stake on opening day. Molina stakes his title in the 200m individual medley and will team up with 15-year-old Jessie Khing Lacuna, Robert Walsh and Charles Walker in the 4x200m relay.
The heats will be held at 9 a.m. while the finals are set at 6 p.m.
“We have a very good chance in the 400-m IM with Miguel Molina and the 4x200-m relay, although medyo dehado tayo doon dahil malakas ‘yung team ng Singapore,” said team manager Pinky Brosas.
“But the boys are feeling good. So we’ll see,” added Brosas.
The 25-year old Molina, a product of the University of California-Berkeley, won four gold medals during the 2007 SEA Games in Nakhonratchasima, Thailand to emerge as the Best Male Athlete of the meet.
Aside from the 400-m IM, Molina also topped the 200-m IM, 200-m breaststroke and was part of the 4x100-m medley relay together with Ryan Arabejo, James Walsh and Daniel Coakley.
Arabejo, winner of three golds also in Thailand two years ago, also tries to make his presence felt as he goes for a back-to-back gold in the 200-m backstroke. His other victory in the Thailand SEA Games came in the 1,500-m freestyle.
Also entered in the men’s backstroke is Lacuna, while with Molina in the 400-m IM is Jose Gonzales.
Philippine Aquatics Sports Association (PASA) president Mark Joseph refuses to make a gold prediction for the RP swimming team despite a productive eight gold harvest it did in the biennial meet’s 24th edition.
“I am not going to predict any golds because of high-level of competition here,” he said.
As part of their initiation, the newcomers in the men’s team – Walker, Lacuna, Robert Walsh, Gonzales and Coakley – had their heads shaved and sports a bald look.
“That has been a tradition among new members of the team,” said Joseph. “Coakley is no longer new to the team, but he got away with it in 2007 so we took him in.”
The lady swimmers, led by Fil-Am Erica Totten, will also start competing as they fight for the four gold medals at stake in the distaff side.
A product of the University of Arkansas, Totten banners the 4x200-m freestyle that also has Jasmine Ong, Marichi Gandionco and Dorothy Hong.
Heidi Gem Ong and Jasmine Ong meanwhile, are entered in the 100-m freestyle, while Hong sees action in the 200-m backstroke.
“Our women swimmers really need to improve dahil ang lalakas ng kalaban natin,” Brosas said.