Ajido, Santor power PH with breakthrough bronze haul in Asian Age Group Championships

By Edwin Rollon

BANGKOK, Thailand — Jamesray Mishael Ajido and Patricia Santor delivered a breakthrough performance for Team Philippines after capturing bronze medals in their respective events at the 12th Asian Age Group Championships over the weekend at the Rajamangala Swimming Center.

The double podium finish provided the country's first medals in the prestigious junior meet, underscoring the steady rise of Philippine swimming against Asia’s best young talents.

Ajido, 17, bounced back from a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter butterfly by claiming bronze in the boys' 17-18 50m butterfly with a time of 24.77 seconds. His effort also established a new Philippine junior record, eclipsing the previous mark of 24.94 seconds set by Joshua Ang in 2022.

The Palarong Pambansa standout and Grade 11 student at De La Salle Zobel finished behind Hong Kong's Adam Onyu Li, who won gold in 24.28 seconds, and the United Arab Emirates' Hussein Mohamed Shawky, who took silver in 24.50.

Santor, meanwhile, sustained the Philippines' medal run by bagging bronze in the girls' 17-18 200m butterfly after clocking 2 minutes and 19.40 seconds. Vietnam's Le Thi Thuy Trang captured the gold in 2:17.05, while Chinese Taipei's Jie Han Chao settled for silver in 2:18.93.

The 18-year-old University of Santo Tomas freshman continued the momentum from her dominant seven-gold medal campaign at this year's Palarong Pambansa in Agusan del Sur.

Riannah Coleman came agonizingly close to joining the medal winners, finishing fourth in the girls' 17-18 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:37.89, just 0.51 seconds behind Hong Kong's Wing Sum Hazel Chung, who secured the bronze in 2:37.38.

Jibril Talusig and Sophia Garra also reached the finals of the boys' and girls' 13-14 50m backstroke events, respectively, but narrowly missed podium finishes.

Philippine Aquatics, Inc. Secretary General and head of delegation Eric Buhain praised the team's resilience and overall showing in the five-day competition.

"Congratulations to James and Patricia. That's the heart of a champion. Both shook off the disappointment from their 100m butterfly events and bounced back with a vengeance to win bronze," said Buhain.

"One thing I noticed is that the level of Philippine swimming has really improved. More Filipino swimmers are making the finals, and that's a very positive sign for the future," added the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame.