Gawilan, Otom secures 2024 Paris Paralympics ticket
2024-Feb-22 13:37
2024-Dec-26 00:54
Filipino para swimmers Ernie Gawilan (left) and Angel Otom (right) qualified for the 2024 Paris Paralympics. (PSC-POC Media Pool)
Two Filipino para swimmers booked their spots in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, the Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC) announced in an interview during Radyo Pilipinas 2 Sports' Para Games Hour radio program.
Two-time Paralympian Ernie Gawilan will return to the quadrennial meet for differently abled athletes, while Angel Otom punched her first-ever Paralympics ticket, PPC President Michael Barredo said.
Both qualified through the minimum qualifying standards (MQS) slot qualification allocation method.
Gawilan ranked sixth in the men's S7 400m freestyle and eighth in the 200m individual medley, while Otom is third in the women's S5 50m backstroke and fifth in the 50m butterfly.
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In the 19th Asian Games last year in Hangzhou, China, the 32-year-old Gawilan retained his S7 400m freestyle crown after clocking 58.29 seconds. He collected two medals in total, with a bronze in the 200m individual medley S7.
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Otom, meanwhile, missed the podium in the three events she joined in the Para Asiad. In the 2023 ASEAN Para Games, the Olongapo tanker clinched four golds for the nationals, including the 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly where she earned a trip to the French capital in July.
Barredo added he hoped para swimmers in Tokyo 2020 Paralympian Gary Bejino and Ar-Jay Alegarbes will also qualify via the bipartite system.
Other potential Paris entrants in this year's multi-sporting festivities are wheelchair racer Jerrold Pete Mangliwan and thrower Cendy Asusano of the Philippine para athletics team.
In the Hangzhou Asiad, Mangliwan captured the men's 400m T52 wheelchair race title after recording one minute and 1.54 seconds, surpassing the minimum entry standard of one minute and 25 seconds.
Asusano, on the other hand, exceeded the qualifying mark of 14.24m with her 15.24m throw in the women's javelin throw F54 at the 5th Indian Open Para Athletics International Championships in 2023 for the gold.