Berino bags gold in Shanghai swim meet

MANILA, Philippines - Gian Berino from the Diliman Preparatory School won the gold in the 100m backstroke in the Shanghai Long Course Series Swim Championship over the weekend.

 Berino took the gold in a time of one minute, two seconds. He missed the gold in the 100m freestyle with a time of 55:07 seconds, a fraction of a second behind the winning time of 55.05. He logged 2:19 in the 200m individual medley and took the bronze in the 400m freestyle.

Berino said he could have improved his time if he had the chance to warm up before the competitions.

“The pool venue was closed till Friday, so I had to practice the last three days in a hotel swim pool which is so short,” he said.

The event was held after the Fujian-Philippines Goodwill Youth Games, an invitational meet pitting Fujian and Philippine Swim League swimmers last Nov. 3-4.

Berino, a protege of former Senator and DPS president Nikki Coseteng, went straight to Shanghai to compete in the first leg of the series which drew more than 500 swimmers from 24 teams from China, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Berino is PSL’s lone representative after UAAP star Claire Adorna had to beg off after getting ill in Fujian province, PSL president Susan Papa said.

China fielded 17 teams from Pudong Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Xiamen.