Leyte’s locally bred finswimmers shine in international fete

TACLOBAN CITY, June 2 -- Eight locally-bred finswimmers of the Leyte Sports Academy (LSA) are qualified to join the 16th Asian Finswimming Championship this November after they collectively won medals in the Taiwan National Age-grouping Finswimming Competition in Kaoshiung City, Taiwan.

The eight-man team of Jean Meryl Vinas, Tehillah Mag-aso, Jelahlou Mendoza, Princess Aseo for the girls; and Rolando Ambe, Jr., Reyl Malbas, Prince Lou Augustus Labang and Fritz Renzon Indab for the boys won a total of 28 gold, nine silver and nine bronze medals earning them a ticket to join the Asian Finswimming fete in South Korea.

The team returned home on Friday after their impressive performance in Taiwan during the competition on May 27-28, 2017.

Mag-aso, for her part, is a medalist during her stint at the Asian Junior Finswimming Championship held in Taipei in 2015 where she won the gold and bronze.

The LSA finswimmers are the country’s representative to the age-grouping finswimming event.

Finswimming is an underwater sport consisting of four techniques involving swimming with the use of fins either on the water's surface using a snorkel with either monofins or bifins or underwater with monofin either by holding one's breath or using open circuit scuba diving equipment.

Events exist over distances similar to swimming competitions for both swimming pool and open water venues.

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla is proud of the continuous achievement the locally-bred athletes are making in the international scene.

“Their performance in international competition is such a great honor for Leyte province that establish the Leyte Sports Academy as a training ground for local athletes to become the country’s representative in international competitions,” Petilla said.

Meawhile, other LSA athlete Veronica Ompod who is a two-time gold medalist in wrestling in the Palarong Pambansa and a gold Medalist in the World Powerlifting Championship in Texas, USA last year will again be competing in the World Powerlifting Championship this June in the Bahamas.

Another LSA scholar Bianca Jane Comate of Bato, Leyte named the fastest woman in the 2017 Palarong Pambansa in Antique when she conquered the 100 meter dash, will be joining the ASEAN School Games this July 2017 in Thailand.

All the expenses of these athletes in these international stints are covered by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Department of Education being the country’s representatives.

The LSA is run by the provincial government which implements a comprehensive sports development program for the youth who can compete in the regional, national and international level. 

Its creation was originally envisioned to look for sports scholar that will help in the improvement of the region’s ranking in the annual sports event, without sacrificing academic performance of sports scholars.(Ahlette C. Reyes & Roel T. Amazona/PNA)