Zambo lass makes waves in Sabah meet

MANILA, Philippines - A 12-year-old swimmer, the best to emerge from Mindanao after a long while, defied the odds and threat from the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association as she won five gold medals in the 43^rd Sabah Age Group Swimming meet in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia yesterday.

Mary Angelic Saavedra, coached by two-time Olympian Leroy Goff, won the gold in 200m individual medley, 200m backstroke, 100m butterfly, 50m butterfly and 100m backstroke.

She also gained the silver medal in 400m freestyle and 400m IM and the bronze in the 100m freestyle.

“She is a very promising swimmer. She’ll be a national record breaker if we can take care of her training,” said Susan Papa, team coordinator and secretary general of the Aquatic Sports Association of the Philippines.

The other gold medal winner was JaJa Cordero in the 100m and 50m butterfly.

The Filipino swimmers, who were here on invitation of the Sabah Swimming Club, were alarmed when an email of PASA president Mark Joseph warned the Malaysian national swimming association not to allow them to compete or it would face suspension by FINA.

The organizers eventually allowed the Filipinos to compete, shrugging off the threat of the PASA president. There was no ground to suspend the Filipino tankers and ASAP because they are not members of PASA.

However, while the female swimmers competed for the medals, the older male participants chose not to participate after their age eligibility was questioned by the organizers.

Joseph’s email questioned the authenticity of their passports, which, he said, can be easily faked by a country like the Philippines.

The swimmers’ parents are set to file charges against Joseph.

Papa said the young Saavedra went through great lengths to be able to compete in her first international meet.

“When she went to Manila two weeks ago, she didn’t have a passport and had to go back to Zamboanga twice to secure her passport,” said Papa.

“Her clockings were the best I can recall from her age group in the Philippines,” she added.

The other winners were Nicole Tan in the 200m and 100m backstroke and Hans Ramos in the 100m and 200m breaststroke.