Dula tows PSL to 11-gold haul in Phuket meet
THE Philippine Swimming League (PSL) copped 11 gold, nine silver and five bronze medals in the 2018 Thanyapura Swimming Championships held at the Thanyapura Swimming Pool in Phuket, Thailand.
Reigning Male Swimmer of the Year Marc Bryan Dula of Wisenheimer Academy led the squad by claiming one god, three silver and one bronze medals in the boys’ 11-year category.
Dula, who celebrated his 11th birthday last week, dominated the 100m backstroke in one minute and 18.09 seconds while then wound up second in the 400m freestyle (5:23.28), 100m butterfly ( 1: 12.43) and 200m backstroke (2:47.42), and third in the 50m butterfly (31.40).
“Marc broke Rio Olympics gold medalist Joseph Schooling’s record in SICC Swimming Championship in boys’ 11-year 50m butterfly (31.48) during his agegroup days. It was a great performance but we want to officially break Schooling’s record in August in the SICC meet,” said PSL President Susan Papa.
Aishel Cid Evangelista was also impressive, nailing five mints in the boys’ 8- under 50m backstroke ( 42.62), 100m backstroke ( 1: 31.72), 50m but- terfly ( 41.09), 100m freestyle ( 1: 18.56) and 50m breaststroke ( 50.50), and a silver in the 50m freestyle ( 36.06).
Ruth Denise Sula contributed three gold medals ( 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke and 100m freestyle), one silver ( 50m butterfly), and two bronzes (50m freestyle and 100m butterfly) in the girls’ 9- 10 class.
Diliman Preparatory School standout Lee Grant Cabral likewise made waves in the threeday meet with two golds (50m breaststroke and 200m freestyle) and three silvers ( 100m freestyle, 50m freestyle and 100m breaststroke) in the boys’ 12- year category.
The other medalists were DPS tankers Albert Sermonia II with two silvers (50m butterfly and 50m backstroke), and one bronze (200m freestyle) in the boys’ 1314, and Jenn Albreicht Sermonia with one bronze (50m butterfly) in the girls’ 9-year event.
“It was a great campaign for our swimmers in Phuket. Both teams that competed in separate international tournaments abroad performed well. It’s a job well done,” added Papa.
The PSL is also coming off a successful campaign in the 2018 Middle East Open Swimming Championship held at the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The PSL is recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission as an official swimming association in the country following its impressive grassroots development program that aims to train talented swimmers for future international competitions.