PH athletes bag medals in 2015 ASEAN Para Games

Joshua Justin D. Ramos

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PH athletes bag medals in 2015 ASEAN Para Games
Three Filipino paralympic athletes impress during the 2015 ASEAN Para Games by bagging several medals in their respective events

MANILA, Philippines – Determination fueled persons with disabilities (PWD) athletes Roland Sabido and Ernie Gawilan who both swam their way to podium finishes at the 8th ASEAN Para Games held from December 3 to 9 in Singapore, bringing pride to the PWD community and the whole country.

Despite not having legs and an arm, Gawilan’s gold and silver medal win proves that his disability is no hindrance to success. The same can be said for Sabido, whose “limitation” of having one less leg did not stop him from winning silver and bronze medals in the swimming event of the Para Games.

Survivor

The Para Games are not broadcasted by major TV networks, but somewhere in Balangiga, Eastern Samar – still recovering from Super Typhoon Yolanda’s devastation – Roland Sabido’s mother, other relatives and friends were cheering him on.

As if surviving Yolanda was not enough, Roland and other athletes had to train with meager food supplies and a shortage of other essentials for their training and conditioning such as vitamins and painkillers.

Feat for the country

For the Philippines, winning a silver medal in an international competition like the ASEAN ParaGames is quite a feat considering the better-trained and conditioned competitors who receive greater support in terms of funding and training by their respective governments. (READ: The problem with Philippine sports)

As of this posting, the Philippines ranks 7th out of the 10 ASEAN countries competing in this year’s Para Games. With 6 gold, 9 silver, and 14 bronze medals, this pales in comparison with the 103 and 109-medal count gained by competition leaders Indonesia and Thailand, of which 40 and 36 are gold medals, respectively.

Sabido competed again on December 6 at 6:00PM (Philippine standard time) for the Men’s 400M Freestyle, this time bagging a bronze for the Philippines. In the same category, Ernie Gawilan and Gary Begino, each bagged gold medals.

For live coverage of the 2015 ASEAN Para Games, visit the Sport Singapore official YouTube channel here. – Rappler.com

Joshua Justin D. Ramos is a Rappler intern. He graduated from the University of the Philippines, Diliman with a degree in Philippine Studies.

 

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