A one-woman Philippine swimming gold mine in the 33rd Thailand Southeast Asian Games in December?
With the help of her Canadian and University of British Columbia head coach coach Derrick Schoof, at least that is the lofty but seemingly attainable goal of outstanding Filipino-Canadian swimmer Kayla Sanchez when she makes her debut in the regional sports showcase.
She is coming off a sensational showing in the University Sports Swimming Championships held early this month in Toronto, Canada, anchoring the Thunderbirds to the women’s overall title in clinching four individual and three relay gold medals to earn the U Sports Women’s Swimmer of the Year Award.
Born in Singapore to former Filipino expatriates before moving to Canada, the 22-year-old swimmer, who made the big dive to represent the country in 2022, and her coach were recently in the country to conduct a two-day intensive coaching workshop organized by the Philippine Aquatics Inc.
PAI secretary general Anthony Reyes said that the course that drew 141 coaches from all over the country was meant to upgrade the coaching standards while seeing a world class and two-time Olympic swimmer in action.
“At the Southeast Asian Games we are looking at the maximum number of events that she (Sanchez) is possible of doing inside the window. When we know the order of events, we will make that decision,” said Schoof, who has been handling the athlete before the Olympics, of their game plan.
“We want her to be ready and prepared to pick up as many gold medals in the SEA Games as possible,” the former Canadian national swimming coach disclosed. “I didn’t know how significant this meet then but I do now.”
“I would suggest that we are looking at five individual events and two relays. We want to get her to be fit enough and fast enought to be able to do those races, he added “It will all depend on the schedule as to what races she will be able to fit into the program.”
Unfazed by the challenges, Sanchez was eagerly looking forward to seeing action in her maiden SEA Games.
“I am willing to embrace the challenge. I am excited. We are waiting for the event report (the program schedule) then we will decide what events I will focus on. It is about being in the best shape possible. To swim as many events as possible and win many events,” the athlete said.
“I will do my best and obviously I want to swim so well, which is probably why I want to embrace the pressure.
“So I don’t want to put any limitations on Kayla right now. Let’s see how the program unfolds, with the 50s you can do that without a huge cost. It’s a sprint, short,” noted Schoof of the possibilities once the SEAG swimming program schedule is out.
“I would suggest that we are looking at five individual events and two relays. We want to get her (Sanchez) to be fit enough and fast enought to be able to do those races,” the Canadian mentor said.
While the prospect of multiple swimming events on successive days is daunting for some swimmers, Schoof said that his prized ward has been there before.
“When Kayla raced in the University Championships, she had 11 races in three days. That gives you the level of fitness that’s required. We are working at that already; the ability to bounce back and do several events in a day,” he said.
Underlining what she was capable of in the SEAG, the swimmer would have swam away with four individual mints in the 2023 32nd Cambodia edition, based on her winning times in the U Sports Swimming Championship, a meet equivalent to the NCAA Division 1 in the US.
Her triumph in the women’s 200-meter freestyle of one minute and 54.74 seconds was far superior to the winning time of 2:01.76 of Singapore’s GhanChing Wee in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.
Sanchez’s winning time of 24.18 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle— a U Sports record—was better than the 25.04 seconds set by veteran Singaporean sensation Quah Ting Weng in Cambodia.
Her clocking in ruling the 100-meter freestyle of 52.48 seconds is also faster than the 55.83 Quah set in Phnom Penh and, is in fact, better than the SEAG mark of 55.74 the Singaporean set in the 2017 Malaysia Games.
Finally, Sanchez’s clocking 25.85 seconds in topping the 50-meter butterfly—also a U Sports record—is also better than the gold-medal time of 26.65 seconds set by Thai JenjiraSrisaard in the SEA Games.
Besides the obvious talent, Schoof credited Sanchez for her superb work ethic, saying: “Her deliberate practice makes her pretty special. She doesn’t cut corners so she wants it really badly. She’s really willing to do the work it takes to get the job done.
“Her attention to detail, she is a hard worker, she is willing to be uncomfortable. As I said she is willing and determined to do great things.”
Schoof said that Sanchez has the “five H’s” to achieve swimming greatness.
“Kayla is happy, healthy, hungry, humble and hardworking. We call that the five H’s and with her talent, you can hardly go wrong with that,” the coach said.
