Ariel Joseph Alegarbes made a splashing debut in the 11th ASEAN Para Games Tuesday, capturing two gold medals in record-breaking style at the Jatidiri Sports Complex pool in Semarang in Indonesia.
Sharing the spotlight were the Filipino para chessers, who were in a class of their own in delivering four golds courtesy of a sweep of the men’s individual and team in the standard events of the P1 and VI B2-B3 categories, respectively, at the Lor-in Hotel here.
FIDE Master Sander Severino and Menandro Redor reigned supreme in the men’s individual P1 and VI B2-B3 divisions, respectively, while anchoring their separate teams to victory in joining the ranks of Alegarbes as the country’s double gold medalists.
Severino defeated compatriot Henry Roger Lopez for the individual gold in the P1 class while Redor led a 1-2-3 finish in the VI B2-B3 division with Arman Subaste and Darry Bernardo taking the silver and bronze, respectively.
The trio of Severino, Lopez and Jasper Rom romped off with the men’s team P1 gold while Redor, Subaste and Bernardo were the top squad in the VI B2-B3 class in a dominant show that netted them four mints.
In front of a lean yet animated Filipino crowd, among them his father Abner, Alegarbes had an unforgettable outing in ruling men’s 100-meter backstroke S14 event in thrilling fashion, surging in the last 10 meters to win the race by a touch in one minute and 3.01 seconds. He nipped Malaysia’s Muhammad Imaan, who had wrested the lead at the 75-meter mark but lost and settled for silver in 1:03.20, while Thailand’s Mrjirachot Chuvong was a distant third and took the bronze medal. (1:11.68).
Barely taking a breather, the 18-year-old Victoria, Negros Oriental pride was back at the pool but this time led from start to finish in handily winning the men’s 50-butterfly S14 event in 26.43 seconds, completing a golden double in his rookie stint in the sportsfest.
On top of being the country’s first double gold medalist in the meet, Alegarbes established new meet records in both events, first smashing the five-year-old mark of 1:03.60 in the 100-meter backstroke set by Indonesia’s Muhammad in the 2017 Malaysia ASEAN Para Games. He also bested by nearly four seconds the joint record of 30.01 seconds held by Malaysian W.Y. Chung and Indonesian D. Nugruho also set in the same Games held in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
“I feel like I am about to explode because I was not expecting this. This is for my father who led me into swimming. Without him I wouldn’t be here,” said Alegarbes, who suffers from ADHD with a learning disability with dyslexia, while handing both mints to his delighted father.
“Of course, I am very proud of my son, and I am glad to witness his accomplishment,” said the elder Alegarbes, who left his work as a construction worker to look after his son after learning of his son’s physical challenge at an early age through the advice of his late psychologist brother.
Alegarbes’s success was a brilliant follow-up to his winning one gold and one silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly S14 and 100-meter backstroke S14, respectively, in the Asian Youth Para Games held in Manama, Bahrain last December.
Veteran Ernie Gawilan, who won the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7 event last Monday, settled for silver in the men’s 100-meter backstroke S7 race in a time of 1:21.13 for the other swimming medal of the day in the stint supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
The PH track and field bets likewise continued to have a productive campaign Tuesday morning at the Manahan Stadium here with runner and newcomer King James Reyes and veteran thrower Jesebel Tordecilla in the women’s boosting the athletic haul to four golds and counting.
Reyes topped the men’s 5,000-meter race T46 event, his time pending confirmation from meet officials, while Tordecilla took the gold with her heave of 14.21 meters on her third attempt in the women’s javelin throw F55 event and added a bronze medal in the shot put to her collection in the afternoon.
A gold medalist in the women’s javelin throw T54 last Monday, Cendy Asusano added a bronze to her collection in the women’s discus throw, which was the same medals won by Ron Russel Mitra and Evaristo Carbonel in the men’s long jump T20 and men’s discus throw F11-13, respectively.
With the production of chess, swimming, and athletics combined for the day, the PH para-athletes had 13 gold, 11 silver, and 20 bronze medals as they pressed to eclipse the tally of 20 golds, 20 silvers, and 29 bronzes in winding up fifth overall in the Malaysian Games in 2017.
