Gawilan delivers first gold medal

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HANGZHOU. – A day after being relegated to the bronze medal, swimmer Ernie Gawilan bounced back strong Tuesday and delivered the country’s first gold medal in the 4th Asian Para Games here.

Gawilan clocked 4:58.29 in the men’s 400m freestyle -S7 class, with Wei Soon Teh of Singapore and Xianquan Huang finishing second and third place, respectively.

The legless Gawilan, 32, gave the country its first medal here last Monday night when he finished third in the men’s 200-meter individual medley champ.

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Earlier in the day, Gawilan finished a strong second in the heats of the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7 event with a time of 5:11.16 behind Soon (5:09.82).

Along with the silver medal won by veteran wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan Tuesday and another bronze won by Gary Bejino last Monday, the Philippines now has three medals here.

Bejino, a double gold medalist in the last Cambodia Para Games, finished third in the men’s 100-meter freestyle S6 finals, clocking 1:12.76.

Making his fourth straight appearance in the continental sports showcase, Mangliwan ran a brilliant tactical race to snatch the silver medal from South Korea’s Jeon in the men’s 100-meter T52 finals at the Huang Long Sports Stadium.

Racing on the outside lane, Mangliwan bided his time before coming up with a burst of speed and flashing past the South Korean in a personal best time of 18.65 for his first medal in the continental meet. He finished fourth in the same event in the 2018 edition in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Japan’s Ito Tatsuya retained his title in a new meet record of 17.41 meters while Jeon, who clocked (18.67), settled for the bronze.

“Nagpapasalamat ako kay God na binigyan niya ako ng ganitong pagkakataon. First time na mag-Asian Para Games medal pagkatapos ng apat na kumpetisyon. Wala na siguro akong masasabi pa,” said the delighted athlete of his unexpected silver in the event that he acknowledged was not his strong suit.

“Nagbunga ‘yung training namin ni coach Joel (Deriada) and Bernard (Ebuen) kasi ang game ko talaga sa bandang dulo dahil basag ako talaga sa start,” added the Tokyo Paralympic Games veteran, who dedicated his silver to cousin Handsome Magdiwang who figured in an accident back home.

Encouraged by his performance, Mangliwan, who won two mints in the Cambodian Para Games last June, is expected to figure prominently for another medal in his pet event, the men’s 400-meter T52 contest, scheduled later this week.

Hoping to add to the country’s medal tally later in the evening was swimmer Ernie Gawilan, who finished a strong second in the heats of the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7 event with a time of 5:11.16 behind Singaporean Soong Too Wei (5:09.82).

A bronze medalist in the 200-meter individual medley the previous day, Gawilan was apparently reserving his strength for the finals since he owns the current Asian Para Games mark of 4:51.00 when he won the event in the Indonesian capital five years ago.

Also making it to the finals of the men’s 100-meter backstroke S14 event Tuesday night was APG rookie Joseph Ariel Alegarbes, who clocked 1:01.16 in finishing sixth among the eight finalists in the event.

Cambodia Para Games quadruple gold medalist Angel Mae Otom finished a distant fourth in the women’s 200-meter freestyle S5 finals in 3:32.34.

Otom’s teammates, Marco Tinamisan (men’s 100-meter freestyle S4) and Roland Sabio (men’s 200-meter IM SM9), failed to go beyond their respective heats.

Veteran power lifter Achelle Guion missed out on a podium finish, winding up fourth with a lift of 83 kilos in the women’s -45-kilogram division.

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