GOING ABOVE AND beyond, two Bedan swimmers—Albert Jose “TJ” II Amaro of the San Beda Junior Sea Lions and Lucio II Cuyong of the Red Sea Lions—passed the initial Philippine Aquatic Inc. (PAI) qualifiers last September 4, securing their spot to represent the Philippines in the forthcoming World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024.
Amaro and Cuyong were both included in the PAI’s 16-strong delegation for short course after conquering the selection of the swimming event with 682 and 664 points, respectively.
“Despite being only 17 years old, I will be competing against older world class swimmers from around the globe,” Amaro expressed in an interview with The Bedan.
He timed exactly 50.92 seconds in the 100 meters freestyle, breaking the 50.93 record which he himself set. With this, Amaro hauled in a total of 682 points, securing rank 13.
On the other hand, 20-year-old Cuyong timed 2:17.71 in his pet event, the 200-meter breaststroke, bagging a total of 664 points and securing rank 16. Later on, he chose to participate in the 200m IM, 200m, 100m, and 50m breaststroke for the World Cup qualifiers.
For Amaro, his preparations rest on “believing in oneself.” “The training is ultimately about getting ready to go and show the world what I can do.”
“I’m doing good in every training session, and I could also say that I am mentally ready for the competition,” he added.
Meanwhile, Cuyong emphasized the normality of his training, saying “My preparations prior to the competition were, honestly, they were no different from the rest of my teammates.”
Nevertheless, his preparation was rooted in the “discipline” he developed during his training. “I just did what our coach said, which is the same as what they tell my teammates. Basically, what I’m saying is there is no special ingredient or nothing special in my training. It’s what I do, it’s what the team does.”
Both of the athletes had nothing but gratitude for the Bedan community, who continuously extended the warmth of their support throughout the two Bedan swimmers’ journey.
Moreover, Cuyong expressed his desire for more appreciation and widespread recognition for every athlete with world-class or nation-class talent within and beyond the Bedan community, regardless of the popularity of the sport they are contending in.
Finally, he conveyed his words of encouragement for the local athletes as he depicted the wider spectrum of the picture of how these homegrown talents are “capable of standing toe-to-toe with foreign athletes that have better equipment, facilities, and overall training.”
Their competition will officially commence with the qualifiers from October 24 to 26 in South Korea and will carry on from October 31 to November 2 in Singapore. Should they qualify to advance, their final stop would be in the World Aquatics Swimming Championships from December 10 to 15 in Hungary.
(with Samantha Calderon and Jasmine Casadores)