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Paraswimmer Ernie Gawilan gets another glory crack at the Paralympic Games
PARIS – Para swimmer Ernie Gawilan is taking no chances during his farewell event on the 17e Paralympic Games.
Mr Gawilan missed the medal race of the men’s 200m individual medley SM7 and he plans to make up for that missed opportunity by giving his all in the 400m freestyle S7 race on Monday at the La Defense Arena in Paris.
He is Asia’s best in the said event, having captured the gold medal twice at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia and the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, China.
Mr Gawilan has been missing both legs since birth and has an underdeveloped left arm.
He reached the wall sixth in his heat during the 200m IM preliminaries and missed the chance of a medal.
Mr Gawilan, a four-time Asian Para Games gold medalist, was paired with Argentina’s Inaki Basiloff, Ukraine’s Andrii Trusov, Cuban Yosjaniel Hernandez Velez and Yurii Shenhur, another Ukrainian, in the 400m freestyle.
Mr Basiloff looked to Mr Trusov for the gold medal in their 200m IM competition this weekend.
Para swimming coach Tony Ong said he expected Mr Gawilan to qualify for the 200m IM final but encountered problems in the event’s breaststroke and did not push him.
“Anyway, we tried to use this event as part of the preparation for his favorite event, the 400m free on Monday,” said Mr Ong.
If Mr. Gawilan passes the heats, then the medal race for the 400 meter free will be held early Tuesday morning.
As the Games reach the halfway point, the Philippines has four athletes left to medal in the national campaign facilitated by the Philippine Paralympic Committee and fully supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Paraswimmer Angel Mae Otom opens her bid for the women’s 50 meter backstroke S5 on Tuesday and wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan enters the Stade de France again on Thursday for the qualifying heats of the 100 meter T52 men’s race on Thursday.
Ms Otom, a three-time gold medalist at the 2023 Asean Para Games, will earn another medal in the women’s 50m butterfly S5 on Friday, before Cendy Asusano concludes the Philippine campaign with the women’s javelin F54 on Saturday. — PSC
