Alkhaldi ready to churn out gold bid in swimming

NAY PYI TAW – Olympian Jasmine Alkhaldi vows to improve her personal best and win the gold medal in the 100m freestyle, first event of the four-member Philippine swimming team in the Southeast Asian Games starting today at the state-of-the-art swimming pool inside the Wunnum Theikdi National Stadium of this new capital city of Myanmar.

The 5-10 Alkhaldi, 20, has grown taller by over an inch since her stint in the 2012 London Olympics, and she has managed to maintain her time of 56.37 seconds, the best qualifying time among 14 swimmers taking the morning heats today.

“I have been doing 56.3.3 in practice, and I really hope I can improve the Philippine mark in the SEA Games,” said Alkhaldi.

Alkhaldi, who studies at the University of Hawaii as a swimming scholar, had the same clocking in the London Olympics where she failed to go past the 32-woman heats.

The former swimmer out of the TRACE College is the only woman entry on the lean team, which has been cut from the original 10 recommended by national head coach Carlos “Pinky” Brosas.

“We recommended 10 but the SEA Games task force approved only four,” said Brosas. “There’s nothing I can do.”

The latest to be cut were Palarong Pambansa multiple gold medalist Axel Ngui and Jose Gonzalez.

“I am not pressuring them to win any gold medal. They know what they are here for,” said Brosas after yesterday morning’s light practice which was cut short by the Myanmar organizers shortly after lunch to allow last minute rehearsals of referees and medal presentors for today’s opening events.

Brosas said the staggered schedule will allow the three other swimmers – Jessie King Lacuna, Matt Louis Navata and Joshua Hall – to focus on their events and take the pressure off Navata and Hall, who are competing for the first time in the SEA Games.

Lacuna will compete in the 100m freestyle, the same event he competed in at London but, like Alkhaldi, also failed to reach the next round.

Navata is taking time off his studies as economics senior at the University of South Carolina to join the team and bid for the gold in his pet event, the 400m individual medley, and the 200m IM.

“I came here to  show my fellow Filipinos what I can do, and I hope win a medal in my event,” said Navata, whose father is half Muslim from Jolo and whose mother is from Quezon City.

Navata grew in New Jersey before he went to USC to pursue an economics degree.

“I believe in him. He trained hard and made this tournament his top priority,” Brosas said of Navata, member of the NCAA division 1 team South Carolina Gamecocks.