Rio-bound swimmer Ernie Gawilan wins second gold medal in Asean Para Games

THERE is no stopping Ernie Gawilan, the first Pinoy para swimmer to qualify for the 2016 Paralympics.

On Tuesday night, the 23-year old Dabawenyo born with underdeveloped extremities and orphaned at an early age, won the gold medal in the men’s 200-meter individual medley S8 event in another record-shattering performance in the 8th Singapore Para Games.

Gawilan, who also broke the 400-m freestyle event record on the wy to a gold medal on Monday, took off almost 10 seconds from the Games record in the 200-m IM with a clocking of 2:47.64, erasing the old standard of 2:56.41.

Toh Wei Soong of Singapore finished a distant second in 3:05.55 while Dang Van Cong of Vietnam would up third in 3:16.39.

“Maganda ang preparasyon ko, sir. One year na training. Pinaghandaan talaga namin ito,” Gawilan told Spin.ph in an online interview from Singapore.

Gawilan, who has booked a ticket to the 2016 Rio Paralympics by virtue of breaking the Paralympics standard in the 400-m freestyle, brought his medal harvest to two gold and one silver in the 100-meter freestyle event where he lost by a hair to Singaporean rival Toh Wei Soong.

Source: Neil Bravo of Spin.ph

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PH paralympian shines in table tennis

Paralympian Josephine Medina reigned supreme in the women’s singles class 6-8 event of the Copa Tango Table Tennis Tournament held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Medina, a fourth placer in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, blasted Elena Livinenko of Russia in the finals via an 11-7 11-5, 13-15, 11-7 decision.

“It was a really tough match, I´m very happy because it´s my second time here and I was able to win the gold medal once again. Elena was a very strong opponent, she is a very attack minded player; I was very focused, I tried to keep the ball on the table and change the speed of the play. The key was to be patient and to play safely,” narrated Medina at the tournamen’s official website.

Medina made it to the finals by beating Sweden’s Anna-Carin Ahlquist, Colombia’s Nelly Sanchez and Chile’s Ailyn Espindola.

“I want to thank all the support I receive from my country and also I must thank the organizers here in Buenos Aires,” she said.

Medina hopes to qualify anew in the Paralympic Games to be held next year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But the Filipina netter must maintain her spot in the world ranking. She’s currently ranked fifth in the world.

“I’m hoping to qualify to Rio; so far I’m no.5, so hope to be there. It’s the dream for me and for my country the Philippines, it is not just for myself; in London it was the first time I had qualified for the Paralympic Games, I hope it will be the same again next year,” ended Medina.

Source: Emil C. Noguera of The Manila Times

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