Asian Games 2023: Top Philippines swimming prospect Kayla Sanchez ready to plunge into new beginnings
The two-time Olympic medallist switched federations from Canada to the Philippines hoping to "inspire people that are like me". Now, expectations are high that the swimmer can end the country’s 25-year-long medal drought.
Swimming
Kayla Sanchez will hear the roar of a whole new nation behind her when she gets her swimming campaign underway at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China.
The 22-year-old swimmer will be representing the Philippines after announcing her decision to switch from Team Canada last year.
“I’ve always been really proud of my Filipino heritage,” Sanchez said in a statement released at the time.
“Aside from how much I’ve grown and how good everything has been in Canada, I needed to make this really difficult decision for myself and my family to take this opportunity to represent the Philippines. I want to help inspire people that are like me to swim and get into the sport.”
Sanchez, who was born to Filipino parents in Singapore before moving to Ontario, Canada, will get her wish, and more, when she dives into the pool at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena once the swimming competition gets underway on Sunday, 24 September.
During her time swimming for Canada, Sanchez became all too familiar with the feel of the podium.
As well as being part of the Canadian women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team that struck silver at Tokyo 2020, she is also a two-time world silver medallist thanks to her performance at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.
Kayla Sanchez: Trying her best for Team Philippines
Entered in at least seven events at the 19th Asian Games, the spotlight is sure to follow Sanchez whenever she swims.
Given her record of picking up hardware at the world's biggest events, there are widespread expectations that Sanchez will do the same for the Philippines as she has done for Canada.
And should she enter the medal zone, the celebration will be significant. Not since 1998 has the archipelagic nation won a medal in swimming when Raymond Papa bagged two bronzes at the Asian Games in Bangkok.
The Philippines' last gold medal dates back to the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, India, where William Wilson took the top prize in the men’s 200m freestyle.
The weight of such expectations will be a heavy thing for Sanchez to carry, but so far the young swimmer has been deftly handling questions about her medal hopes.
“I’m excited to come here and compete," Sanchez told journalists, brushing away the magnifying glass placed on her. "This is my first Asian Games, so I’m letting the experience guide me through. I’m just happy to be here with the team."
When asked about her chances of topping the podium, she added: “I’m obviously trying my best to place the highest for Team Philippines."
Sanchez's long journey to Hangzhou stems back to when she started swimming at the age of four at a community learn-to-swim programme. She was encouraged to enter her first competitions at age eight.
Later, she joined Swimming Canada’s High Performance Centre in Ontario to help keep the team's momentum following the success at Rio 2016. She was part of a group that included Penny Oleksiak, now a seven-time Olympic medallist and Canada's most decorated Olympian.
A year later, after helping Canada to a sweep of medals in the relays at the 2017 World Junior Swimming Championships, Sanchez was elevated to the senior team.
She made appearances at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest before competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju.
With the 19th Asian Games set to be her debut for the Philippines, Sanchez is looking to use the competition to help springboard her to the Paris 2024 Olympics where she hopes to go one step further than she did with Canada and achieve an individual medal.
With that goal in mind, Sanchez opted to skip this year's World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka to be more ready for the challenges of the Asian Games.
Kayla Sanchez: Swimming schedule at 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou
Entered events:
- Women's 50m Freestyle
- Women's 100m Freestyle
- Women's 50m Backstroke
- Women's 100m Backstroke
- Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay
- Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay
- Women's 4x100m Medley Relay