UNITED STATES-BORN Filipino swimmer Gian Santos, James Ray Ajido and Mishka Sy emerged as the standouts of the Philippine Aquatics National Swimming Trials held over the weekend at the Teofilo Yyldefonso pool inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
A native of California, Santos, 18, made the biggest waves, sweeping his six events in the boys’ 16 to 18-year-old category, surpassing the qualifying standards in each event set by the Philippine Aquatic for the 46tth Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in Thailand in December.
The athlete, whose parents, Marlon and Mae Santos, were born in the country and chose to become a Filipino citizen at 15 in 2021, set personal bests in the 100 and 200-meter freestyle, 400-meter individual medley and 200-meter breaststroke events in times of 50.70 seconds, 1:51.39, 4:31.33 and 2:18.30, respectively.
Set to take up a pre-med degree in BS Neuro Science at New York’s Columbia University, an IIvy League Conference NCAA Division I swimming powerhouse, Santos said he was surprised when he surpassed his previous personal best of 2:21.87 in the 200-meter breaststroke by more than two seconds.
