MANILA, Philippines – Teenage sensation Jerard Jacinto reset the national 100-meter backstroke mark in a failed bid in the seventh FINA World Juniors Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary Tuesday night.
Jacinto, 18, clocked 56.27 seconds to eclipse the Philippine mark of 56.48 set by Jaden Christian Olson in the NCSA Summer Championships in the US early this month that erased the previous record of Ryan Papa in the Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia 22 years ago.
Jacinto, however, ended up 22nd overall and missed the 16-man semis.
But it was a performance that should bolster Jacinto’s bid for a slot in the coming Manila SEA Games.
The Philippine Swimming Inc. will hold the National Championship slated August 31 to September 3 at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, where Jacinto would be slugging it out with the other top bidders.
Filipino tankers have made significant strides recently with record-breaking performances.
Last month, Fil-Am Remedy Alexis Rule shattered Olympian Jasmine Alkhaldi’s four-year national mark in the women’s 100-meter fly in the 18th FINA World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, Korea.
Rule, 23, clocked one minute and .42 second to eclipse Alkhaldi’s 1:01.00 clocking she set in the SEAG in Singapore in 2015.
The PSI is hoping these most recent solid performances will enhance their chances of breaking a 12-year gold medal drought in the biennial meet the country is hosting from Nov. 30-Dec. 10.
The last Filipinos who struck gold in the SEAG were Miguel Molina, Ryan Arabejo, James Walsh and Daniel Coakley in 2007 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.