LED by 30th Southeast Asian Games gold medalists and Olympic hopefuls Melcah Jane Caballero and Joane del Gaco, Filipino rowers are set to vie for honors in the virtual World Rowing Indoor championships from Feb. 23 to 27.
Philippine Rowing Association secretary general Jercyl Lerin yesterday said Caballero and Del Gaco, who accounted for two of the three mints that Pinoy rowers won in the 30th SEA Games, were among the six local bets who qualified for the prestigious event organized by World Rowing.
“Caballero qualified by topping the lightweight women’s 500 meters in the Asian Continental indoor rowing championships organized by the Hong Kong China Rowing Association last Jan. 24,” Lerin said.
Caballero, who bagged SEA Games mints in the women’s lightweight women’s singles and doubles sculls, topped her race in a time of one minute and 40.6 seconds.
Del Gaco, who won the women’s lightweight double sculls gold with Caballero, came through the Open process with former national rower Mireille Cua and will see action in the women’s under-23 500-meter race, according to Lerin.
Also earning their spots in the world meet were Wylene Lu, Alyssa Go and Kyra Louise Sandejas, who finished 1-2-3, respectively, in the women’s under-23 single sculls lightweight 500-meter event of the Asian Continental competition.
Caballero and Del Gaco are being primed to compete in the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifying tournament set May 5 to 7 in Tokyo in the women’s lightweight double sculls 2,000-meter race where the top three finishers will qualify for the Olympic Games.
The pair are among eight athletes who resumed training last Jan. 6 under strict health and safety conditions at the national rowing camp inside the La Mesa Dam reservoir in Quezon City, according to national coach Edgar Maerina.
Lerin said because of the protocols they enforced “we were fortunate not to have a single athlete or coach who showed any signs of COVID-19,” allowing the athletes to virtually train non-stop since last year despite the pandemic.
“We resumed training last Jan. 6 and all of us were required to undergo tests for COVID-19 and a 14-day quarantine before going back to our camp,” Maerina said, adding they had to make adjustments at the PRA extension office and boathouse to make room for the athletes.”
Lerin said they wanted to sustain the success of the national rowers in the last SEA Games since the organizers of the Vietnam SEA Games later this year had staked a total of 16 gold medals — eight each in the men’s and women’s divisions — for the 31st edition of the meet slated Nov. 23 to Dec. 2 in Hanoi.
“In fact, we are lobbying for the reinstatement of the men’s lightweight double sculls where Cris Niervaez won our other gold in the SEA Games because Vietnam did not include his event,” she said.
