Gawilan faces tough field in Paralympics

MANILA, Philippines – Asean Para Games double-gold medalist Ernie Gawilan admitted he will have his hands full in the swimming competitions of the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil and vowed to tirelessly strive to meet his target time on his debut

“Gagawin kong triple para mahigitan pa yung performance ko, para makamit ang magandang record. Syempre lahat naghahangad makapunta sa Olympics o Paralympics at pagkakataon ko na ito so papahirapan ko pa ang sarili ko at gagawin ang lahat (I will triple my efforts in training because not everyone gets a chance to compete in the Paralympics and I want to make the most of this opportunity),” said Gawilan.

Davaoeño Gawilan clinched a berth to Rio with his golden time of 4:48.49 in the S8 400-meter freestyle event of the APG. The winning clocking in the last Paralympics was 4:27.11.

“Malayo pero gagawin ko makakaya ko para makuha yung time (I have a lot of catching up to do but I’ll give it my all),” he said. “Kailangang ibaba ko ng 20 seconds para mahabol ko yung time. Mahirap iyun pero basta magtiwala lang sa sarili at magsikap, siguro makukuha din (Improving by 20 seconds is gonna be tough but with faith and hardwork, perhaps I can achieve it).”

The Philippine Sports for the Differently-abled (Philspada) is eyeing to send the 24-year-old Gawilan to a tournament in Germany in April as part of his buildup for the Paralympics.

Aside from legless swimmer Gawilan, Pinoy tracksters Andy Avellana and Jerrold Mangliwan and table tennis ace Josephine Medina have virtually assured themselves of stints in the Rio joust. Powerlifter Adeline Dumapon-Ancheta is also a shoo-in to book a trip along with fellow London veterans Achele Guion and Agustin Ditan. Some other bets are knocking on the door with stints in qualifying meets in the coming months.