Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 19) – The country’s top para-swimming bet Ernie Gawilan is confident that he will perform better in his second Paralympic stint in Tokyo, Japan.
Gawilan shared to CNN Philippines that he surpassed in training his five minute and 3.74 second finish which clinched him a bronze medal in the 400-meter S7 freestyle event of the World Para Swimming Series event held in Berlin, Germany last June.
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“Yung time ko nasa five flat na agad, tatlong segundo yung nawala sa Berlin (My time now is at five minutes flat, three seconds better than my time in Berlin),” said Gawilan, who trains at the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City with fellow Tokyo Paralympics-bound swimmer Gary Bejino.
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In Tokyo, Gawilan will race in three S7 events – his pet event 400-meter freestyle, 200-meter individual medley, and 100-meter backstroke.
Swimmers in the S7 category are classified by the International Paralympic Committee as those with “one leg and one arm amputation on opposite sides, or a paralysis of one arm and one leg on the same side.”
The para-swimming bet out of Davao said their increased training intensity during the past weeks helped him to gain more strength, including a cord training where they were wrapped in a training band and would pull it towards the wall.
Gawilan also noted the balanced strength and conditioning sessions and water time they had in training will be crucial for his performance in Tokyo, especially in the 200-meter individual medley event where he is required to perform all the four swimming strokes.
“Lahat yun ina-apply ko para pagdating doon, hindi na mahirap mag-adjust (I apply all these training exercises so that when I’m in Tokyo, it will not be hard for me to adjust),” he said.
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The 30-year-old para-swimmer leaves his chance of a podium finish in Tokyo at the hands of fate, but he emphasized he wants to have a best showing in his favorite 400-meter freestyle event.
“Kapag nasa final na, andoon na yung podium so bahala na. Ubusan na ng lakas kapag final (When I advance in the final, the podium finish will be there so let it be what happens there. You will pour out all of your energy in the final),” said Gawilan.
Gawilan stated that his confidence also comes from the fact that this year’s Paralympics will be held in a place where they can properly meet their nutrition needs and the humid weather will be more favorable to them.
“Yung pagkain, hindi kami maninibago kasi Asian food yan. Mainit din daw sa Japan, kaya okay lang. Noong mga nakaraang laro namin, malamig ang temperature kaya mahirap mag-adjust,” Gawilan explained.
[Translation: In terms of food, we will not have an adjustment because they serve Asian food there. The weather is also hot in Japan, so it is okay for us. In our previous competitions, the temperature is cold so we’re having a hard time to adjust.]
Gawilan was selected by the Philippine Paralympic Committee to be the country’s flag bearer in the Tokyo Paralympics closing ceremony on Sept. 5.
