107th PSL National Series fires off Sunday

MORE than 500 tankers will be vying for honors in the 107th Philippine Swimming League ( PSL) National Series scheduled on Sunday at the Diliman Preparatory School swimming pool in Quezon City.

The one-day event will be divided into two categories - the Class A-B and Class C - with medals awaiting the top three tankers in each event trophies to the Most Outstanding Swimmer awardees in each age group.

The competition serves as qualifying for international competitions the PSL will be joining including the prestigious 2017 Indian Ocean All- Star Challenge to be held in April in Perth, Australia.

“This is our first competition this year as we aim to pick some swimmers for our international competitions. It is open to all regardless of your affiliation as long as you want to earn a spot in the team that we’ll be sending abroad,” said PSL President Susan Papa.

The PSL chief wants to select swimmers as early as possible to ensure that they are in top conditions before plunging into action in different international competitions.

All selected swimmers will undergo a weeklong training camp to be possibly held at the Olympic- size swimming pool of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

“So far, we already have a number of swimmers we picked based on their performances in the 2016 season. But we want to select more swimmers to give them a chance to represent our country in international level,” stressed Papa.

Among the top candidates are Philippine national junior record holder Jerard Dominic Jacinto, reigning PSL Male Swimmer of the Year Sean Terence Zamora, National Collegiate Athletic Association medalist Sean Elijah Enero, University Athletic Association of the Philippines standout Drew Benett Magbag, Male Swimmer of the Year candidate Marc Bryan Dula and Immaculate Heart of Mary College-Paranaque’s Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh, a multi-gold medalist in six international competitions last year.