By Edwin Rollon
Teen phenom Kyla Louise Bulaga etched her name in history as the youngest member of the Philippine swimming team bound for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) this December in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 15-year-old protégé of Olympian Ryan Paolo Arabejo from the La Union Bullsharks Swim Club clinched a silver medal in the girls’ 400m Individual Medley on Sunday at the final day of the Philippine Aquatics, Inc. (PAI) National Tryouts at the Teofilo Yldefonso Swimming Center in Malate, Manila.
Bulaga clocked 5:11.84, trailing only veteran internationalist Xiandi Chua of the FTW Royals Club, who won gold in 5:05.61. Both surpassed the qualifying standard time (QTS) of 5:13.05 to earn their SEAG slots.
“Masayang-masaya po at very proud. Dati po pinapanood ko lang yung mga langoy nila ate Xiandi, ngayon nakasabayan ko siya tapos silver medal pa ako. Very grateful ako sa suporta, lalo na sa parents ko at kay coach Ryan,” said Bulaga, who also bagged gold in the 400m freestyle but fell short of the qualifying mark.
She vowed to focus fully on her lone event for Bangkok: “With only one event for the SEA Games, talagang pong concentrate ako sa training namin.”
Chua, meanwhile, secured her return to the biennial meet with five events, including the 200m backstroke, where she is a defending champion and record-holder. Her time of 2:17.10 cleared the QTS of 2:23.52 but was well off her SEAG record of 2:13.20.
“Yey, bad swim, really. Need to focus more,” admitted Chua, who is set to resume training in Melbourne. She also qualified in the 100m freestyle (56.95), 100m backstroke (1:03.07), and 200m IM (2:18.38).
Olympic relay silver medalist Kayla Noelle Sanchez leads the squad after making the grade in six events: 100m freestyle (55.00), 50m back (29.00), 200m freestyle (2:01.41), 50m butterfly (27.46), 100m backstroke (1:02.38), and 50m freestyle (25.38).
“I’m very proud of representing the Philippines. It’s a dream come true, and I will try my best to deliver gold medals for the country,” said Sanchez, 24, who balances training with her nursing aide studies in Canada.
Also making the national team are foreign-based bets Chloe Isleta, Miranda Renner, Teia Isabella Salvino, Gian Santos, Metin Junior Jason Mahmutoglu, Joran Paul Orogo, Logan Wataru Noguchi, and Heather White, alongside homegrown stars Ivo Nikolai Enot, Quendy Fernandez, and Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh.
The 26-year-old Isleta, 2022 Vietnam SEA gold winner, made a grade in 100m free (58.08), 100m back (1:03.91) and 200m back (2:18.19); Salvino, 20, another gold medalist in Cambodia edition will swim in 50m back (29.85) and 100m back (1;03.85), while the 24-year-old Renner, who won a silver in the 2023 edition, takes her skills in the 50m fly (27.34) and 100m fly (1;01.79).
The local stars led by Mojdeh, a two-time World Junior Championships campaigner and bronze medalist in 2024 Asian Age Group, qualified in the 200m fly (2:18.18) and 100m fly (1:01.89); the Palawan-native and UAAP star Fernandez will participate in the 50m back (29.23), 100m back (1:03.23) and 200m back (2:20.44), while Enot made it in the 50m back (26.69).
The 18-year-old White, a silver medal winner in the Asian Age Group Championship and member of the Duke University swimming team, will swim in the 100m free (56.23), 200m free (2:05.40), 50m fly (27.49) and 50m free (25.70), while Santos, who represented the country in last month's World Championships, is good at 200m free (1:51.46) and 400m IM (4:32.14).
Noguchi, 20, qualified in the 100m free (50.18), 50m back (26.04), 50m fly (24.30), 100m back (56.76) and 50m free (22.66); Orogo in 50, back (26.05), 100m back (56.67) and Mahmutoglu in 50m back (26.53).
PAI secretary-general Eric Buhain lauded the 14 qualifiers. “We are proud of their achievements and hopeful that they will carry the Philippine flag with honor in Bangkok,” he said.
