PSL’s Rodgers breaks record in UAAP meet
PHILIPPINE Swimming League ( PSL) standout Joy Rodgers of University of the Philippines ( UP) broke the women’s 50- meter breaststroke record in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 swimming competitions at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Rodgers clocked 33.62 seconds in the preliminary round to smash the 33.72 old mark fellow UP tanker Denjylie Cordero registered in Season 77 last year at the Trace Aquatic Center in Los Banos, Laguna.
Rodgers defeated silver medalist Ramona Datu of Ateneo and bronze winner Terese Dela Rosa of UP.
According to PSL President Susan Papa, Rodgers’ time is currently the best record in Philippine swimming. “She achieved such feat without any financial support coming from the Philippine Sports Commission. She has been a consistent Presidential Trophy- FINA points awardee of PSL,” Papa said.
Rodgers was a member of the Philippine delegation that saw action in the 2015 Summer World University Games held in Gwangju, South Korea. She was also the Most Outstanding Swimmer when she competed in the 2013 Royal Bangkok Swim Meet together with Ma. Claire Adorna, Sean Terence Zamora and Yuri Ilustre.
“I am at the starting block thinking that I have competed with the best in the Universiade and in mind that I will just swim my best,” stressed Rodgers, who was trained by Bernie Cavida - a swimming coach sent by PSL in the 2011 Summer World University Games in Shenzhen, China.
Zamora also shone in the high school division as he placed second in the boys’ 200m Individual Medley by clocking 2: 17.16 without tapering. The tournament serves as Zamora’s buildup for the 2015 Tokyo Swimming Meet in Japan in November.
“This international competition in swimming with the world class athletes brought her the experience and made her confident,” said Papa.
The other PSL medalists were National University’s Martin Jacob Pupos (bronze in the men’s 800m freestyle), University of the East’s Carmenrose Matabuena (silver medal in the girls’ 100m freestyle and Jerard Dominic Jacinto (bronze in the boys’ 100m freestyle).
Pupos and Matabuena are both qualified to participate in the 29th World Universiade Games to be held in Taipei, Taiwan in 2017.
“There are other good swimmers who are missing the opportunity to compete in the World University Games, but there is nothing I can do but just to feel sorry for them. This is being participated by world-class athletes and Olympians from USA, China, Japan, Germany, Australia, England, Canada, Brazil,” added Papa.
“Because of the restriction of having been prohibited, they are not joining the try out and instead are going for SEA Games and Asian Games with 11 and 40 countries participating respectively. Sad is they will just retire going nowhere like swimmers in the past,” lamented Papa.