SERVING as an ideal tune-up for the 12th Cambodia Asean Para Games, a nine-man para swimming squad led by Vietnam Asean Para Games triple gold medalists Angel Mae Otom and Ariel Joseph Alegarbes will see action in the 5th leg of the World Para Swimming Series opening Saturday at the OCBC Aquatic Center in Singapore.
Otom, Alegarbes and the rest of the national para swimming contingent, including coaches Ral Rosario and Tony and Ong, left for Singapore yesterday to take part in the three-day event serving as a qualifying meet for the World Para Swimming Championships and Hangzhou Asian Para Games, according to PH team deputy chief of mission for the 12th Asean Para Games Irene Soriano-Remo.
The World Para Swimming competitions, a qualifying meet for the 2024 Paralympic Games, will be held from July 31 to Aug. 6 in Manchester, England while the 19th Hangzhou Asiad Para Games will be held from Oct. 23 to Nov. 8 in Hangzhou, China.
“Competing in the World Para Swimming Series in Singapore will be an ideal tune-up for national para swimming athletes for the Cambodia Asean Para Games in June,” said PSC Commissioner Walter Torres, the national para team chief of mission.
The 11th edition of the Asean Para Games will be held from June 3 to 9 in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.
Besides Otom and Alegarbes, the other team members are veterans Erne Gawilan, Gary Bejino, Rolando Subido, Muhaimin Ulag, Arnel Aba and Edwin Villanueva.
The para swimmers were among the top contributors of the country’s campaign in the Asean Para Games in Surakarta, Indonesia with a haul of 12 golds, five silvers and 5 bronzes.
The Philippines finished fifth overall in the medal standings with a harvest of 28 gold, 30 silver and 46 bronze medals for its best finish ever in the regional games for para athletes.
