Fil-Am swimmer eyes 2nd gold; Gawilan chases medal

MANILA, Philippines — Fil-Am swimmer Gia Pergolini of Team USA shoots for her second gold medal while Filipino tanker Ernie Gawilan chases a dream medal finish in the Tokyo Paralympics today at the Tokyo Aquatics Center.

Pergolini, whose mother Alice Masangkay was born and raised in Manila, aims to ride the crest of her record-breaking, gold-medal performance in the 100-meter backstroke (S13) Friday by adding another one in the 50m freestyle.

The 17-year-old Pergolini is scheduled to swim in the first of the three heats at 9:06 a.m. (Philippine time) and, if she ends up claiming one of the eight finals spots, would gun for her second mint and possibly deliver another record-shattering effort at 5:17 p.m.

This would be Pergolini’s third and final event. She finished fifth in the 100m butterfly (S13) a few days ago before breaking her own world record twice – the first in the qualifying heats (1:05:05) and in the finals (1:04:64).

Pergolini’s feat was a ray of sunshine for a Philippine team still searching for its first Paralympic gold.

Gawilan is one the country’s bets hoping and dreaming to achieve this target as he plunges back into action in the 400m free (S7) at 8 a.m. today.

Wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan is currently competing in the heats of the 1500m (T52) at press time.

The other two Philippine bets with the same hope are Jeannette Aceveda, who will compete in the discus throw (F11) Tuesday, and Allain Ganapin, who will do battle in taekwondo’s K44-75-kilogram division on Sept. 3.

Pergolini, from Atlanta, Georgia, started swimming at age four before she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, an inherited degenerative disorder of the retina that can lead to total blindness, at fourth grade.