Jasmine Alkhaldi on track to make waves in Southeast Asian Games

MANILA, Philippines — Two-time Olympic swimmer Jasmine Alkhaldi is on course to make a big splash in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next year as she ramps up training in camps in Spain and Italy before engaging in a tune-up competition in Singapore in March.

Alkhaldi, 25, was the only Philippine swimmer to qualify for the FINA World Championships (25-meter short course) in Hangzhou, China, last Dec. 11-16. She clocked 55.54 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle, surpassing the qualifying time of 55.66, at the FINA World Cup (25-meter short course) in Singapore last month. Singapore’s Cherlyn Yeoh, however, topped her mark with a 54.77 swim. Alkhaldi failed to qualify in four other events, 50-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly and 100-meter butterfly.

There were 12 more Philippine swimmers who competed in the World Cup and none qualified for Hangzhou. They were Rafael Barretto, Gabriel Guerrero, Samuel Alcos, Jexter Chua, Perry Chua, Alberto Batungbacal, Rosalee Santa Ana, Jerard Jacinto, Samantha Coronel, Regina Castrillo, Chloe Daos and Jiwh Santos. The 13-strong contingent participated in 15 men and nine women events.

Because Alkhaldi qualified for Hangzhou, she was allowed to choose one other event and picked 200-meter freestyle. In the 100-meter freestyle, Alkhaldi headed Heat 7 with a time of 55.38 seconds, beating Thailand’s Natthanan Jungkrajang who clocked 55.44. Jungkrajang, 32, was the Thai swimmer who had a false start in the same event at the 2013 SEA Games. Organizers ruled a re-swim and nullified Alkhaldi’s gold medal effort. In the re-swim, Jungkrajang took the gold and Alkhaldi slid to a bronze. 

Alkhaldi’s 55.38 clocking set a new Philippine short course record, eclipsing her own mark of 55.75 set at the 2016 World Championships in Canada. It was good for 27th place out of 97. She would’ve had to clock better than 53.82 to join the semifinal cast of 16. The eventual gold medal time was 51.15 by the Netherlands’ Ranomi Kromowidjojo. 

In the 200-meter freestyle, Alkhaldi clocked 2:01.31, establishing a new Philippine short course record. The previous mark of 2:01.95 was set by Alkhaldi at the 2016 World Championships. Her time was tied with Singapore’s Rachel Tseng as they shared 31st place of 56. Jungkrajang finished No. 27 with a time of 2:00.30. To crack the top eight final, Alkhaldi would’ve had to swim better than 1:54.82. The gold medal time was 1:51.38 by Australia’s Ariarne Titmus.

Alkhaldi’s coach Archie Lim said the short course competition was “good training” for the long course events in the SEA Games and Olympics. “Short course forces you to train some aspects like turns and underwater,” he said. “Right now, Jas’ passport is still with the Italian embassy so it’s not sure if she can make it to Hawaii for training during the holidays. If she’s not able to go to Hawaii, we’re looking at a few days of training in Singapore. We’ve talked to a Singapore club and they’re willing to take Jas in for a few days. It all depends on when her passport is released.”

Lim said the plan is for Alkhaldi to train with the Austrian team in Spain for two weeks starting Jan. 9 then two to three weeks in Italy with her former University of Hawaii teammate Laura Letrari. “The Austrian team has a very good system and coach,” said Lim. “We were able to talk with the coach in Hangzhou. Laura arranged the training and will join Jas in Spain and Italy. Jas’ next competition is in March, most probably in Singapore as a tune-up meet. Then for summer, we are looking at training in the US or Japan before the World Championships in July. We’ll see how all those camps go and decide where she will go from August to November before the SEA Games.”

Ever Bilena CEO Dioceldo Sy, who’s supporting Alkhaldi’s campaign, said the training program is geared towards winning three to five gold medals in the SEA Games. “It’s continuous training and competition for Jas,” said Sy who went to Hangzhou to cheer for Alkhaldi. “We were so proud that she beat her Thai rival in the 100-meter freestyle and finished No. 27 of 97 in the world, that’s quite an accomplishment. But we want her to continue improving.” Sy said he was impressed at the way the Chinese sports officials converted a tennis facility into a swimming center by putting a pool on top of the courts in Hangzhou.

Alkhaldi, who has collected nine bronze medals in three SEA Games but never a gold or silver, holds 12 Philippine swimming records, nine in the long course (50 meters) and three in the short course. “I prefer long course as I have a lot more experience with it,” said Alkhaldi. “Hangzhou was only my third short course competition internationally. There’s not a huge difference in training but difference in points in my races which we had to focus and work a lot on since it was short course, like my turn and breakouts.”