10-year-old makes impression in Australia-vs-Asia swim meet

MANILA, Philippines - Sidney Miralao, 10-year-old student of the Susan Papa Swimming Academy, clocked 34.5 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle to finish second in Asia, giving her a spot in the Asian relay team that competed against Australia in last week’s Australia Challenge: Australia vs Asia in Perth.

It was the best performance by the five-member team of the Aquatic Sports Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Swimming League, whose aim is to give young swimmers a chance to test their mettle in a fun meet pitting the best of Australia’s age-group swimmers against a selection of Asian countries.

Miralao also competed in the medley relay for the Asian team in the meet held April 3-4 at the world-class Challenge Stadium in Perth, Western Australia.

Miguel Thruelen, 15, came third in Asia with his time of 27 seconds and joined the Asian relay and medley teams.

Seven-year-old Ela Miralao, 12-year-old Gertie Pilapil, and 17-year-old Paul Jerome Carpio – all newcomers – posted their personal best in their respective events.

ASAP and PSL coaches Al Papa and Manny Thruellen, who accompanied the swimmers, also attended Australia’s international coaching seminar where they learned modern techniques in the sport.

“Now I can understand why coach Susan Papa is saying Filipino coaches are so much behind after I attended the coaches seminar,” said Thruelen.