Molina says Olympic gold not unreachable

MANILA, Philippines –  The country’s most bemedalled Southeast Asian (SEA) Games swimmer Miguel Molina said the other day persistence will pay off in the end if Filipino athletes stay the course and diligently work to follow a plan leading to an Olympic gold medal.

Molina, 26, announced his retirement from competitive swimming last week and will forgo a chance to participate in his third Olympics after representing the country in Athens and Beijing. Even as he remains at the top of his game, Molina has decided to quit. However, it won’t mean the end of his love affair with swimming.

“I’m taking things one step at a time,” said Molina who collected 11 gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals in five SEA Games from 2001 to 2009. “Swimming will always be a part of my life. I’m competitive at heart and every time, I’m reminded of swimming, like when I see a pair of goggles or a pool or my old teammates, I always think what could have been if I continued to train. Maybe, I could make London? Maybe not. But for the moment, I want to take on the challenges of life as a non-swimmer, get a job and fit into the ‘real world.’ If that job is coaching swimming or working in finance or programming software, I will find a way to give back to the sport that has given me so much.”

Molina plans to take coaching courses in swimming and hopes to be involved in the Philippine program. “I don’t have any experience and any idea on how to go about doing it but I would definitely consider coaching the Philippine team but the question is whether or not they would consider me,” he said.

Molina’s advantage is he has learned from some of the world’s best swimming coaches.

“My college coaches were Nort Thornton, Mike Bottom, Ben Sheppard, Nick Folker and Bart Kizierowski,” he said. “I mostly spent time under Nort. Nick was my weight coach. I definitely learned a lot at the University of California-Berkeley. My times may not have improved as much as one would have thought upon going to college but my understanding of the sport greatly increased. In college, I was also exposed to the highest level of racing in the world and this experience was invaluable. My last coach Sergio Lopez Miro (Olympic bronze medalist in the 200 breaststroke in 1988) was probably my biggest influence. Though I was under his tutelage for the shortest amount of time, I still learned things in swimming when I thought I had heard, seen and done it all.”

Molina was born in Manila but has lived in Japan since he was three as his parents, Tom and Mitos, are teachers in Tokyo. He attended St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo from Grade 1 to Grade 12 then transferred to California. His coaches included Dave Moodie, Yoshi Endo, Usui, Dave Sato and 2002 double Asian Games gold medalist and individual medley specialist Mori Takahiro.

On the Philippines’ quest for that Olympic gold medal, Molina said if humans can send a man to the moon, why would it be impossible for Filipinos to hit paydirt? “We have medalled in the Asian Games,” he said. “One thing I should mention is that Daniel Coakley’s time in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2009 SEA Games would have placed him third in Guangzhou. Now, some may say that he did that with a faster suit which is now illegal. But back in 2007, before the onset of the high-speed suits, Daniel’s time would have still won third at this year’s Asian Games. Since we changed our whole workout routine and the way we swim because of the suits, which became legal in 2008 and illegal in 2010, we had to adjust again. Some adjusted better than others. All I’m saying is that we are there. It is possible to medal. We were just unlucky and in sports, it really doesn’t matter how good you are, it’s how lucky you are.”

Molina said before anything else, there must be a plan or a blueprint to follow in the hunt for Olympic gold.

“We need to have a plan, believe in it and be patient,” he said. “Most importantly, we shouldn’t give up at the first signs of failure. If we have a solid plan, that we believe in, the results will come. Maybe, not right away, maybe not in five years, but hopefully, in 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, we will have set something up that cannot be taken down. And I believe PASA is on that plan.”

Molina said as for Philippine sports on the whole, the first step is to minimize all the politics and let the athletes shine. “I truly believe the Philippines is a country full of gifted minds and athletes,” he said. “We just don’t have the resources or opportunities to maximize our talents. Whenever I go back to the Philippines, I see many, many talented swimmers and I know there is a plethora of other great and talented athletes in all sports – a lot of them with the determination and work ethic of a Manny Pacquiao to make it big.”

Molina said as a boy, he just didn’t dream of competing in the Olympics – he dreamed of a gold strike. “I know there are a lot like me who dreamed of winning an Olympic gold or playing in the NBA or becoming an undisputed world boxing champion,” he continued. “They were probably more talented and worked harder than me. However, I’m just starting to understand this now but there are some factors in life that we can’t control, unforeseen circumstances that lead us to stray from our dreams and in the Philippines, a big one is the issue of money. That’s why all the countries on the top of the medals table at each Olympics are the biggest economies in the world – China, Japan, USA, Germany and Russia. They have money to throw around for sports whereas in the Philippines, we don’t just have the same amount of resources and there is skepticism of whether or not the funds are being appropriately used. And if we did have the resources, funding sports would be lower down the to-do list for government behind perhaps, eradicating corruption and poverty.”

Molina said even in retirement, he will do his share to bring glory to the Philippines the best way he knows how.