In a rousing international debut, Palarong Pambansa standout Anton Paulo Dominick Della secured an age-group silver medal in the men’s 10-kilometer race that kicked off the 4th Southeast Asia Open Water Championships, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, in Boracay on Friday.
Swimming in ideal conditions on the 1.66-kilometer course off Boracay Newcoast overlooking the Sibuyan Sea, Della clocked 2:00:20 to finish second in the 18-19 age group.
The 17-year-old pride of San Fernando, La Union, who won four gold medals at the last Palarong Pambansa in Agusan del Sur, narrowly missed the podium in the Open division, finishing just five seconds behind the bronze medalist among the 31 entries.
(C) PSC
Vietnam’s Ngoc Vin Dho won the event in 1:58:30, followed by compatriot Van Dung Cao in 2:00:15. Mochammad Taufik of Indonesia took bronze in 2:00:06.
Sharing the spotlight with Della was Dianna Celyn Cruz, who battled painful hips to claim bronze in the women’s 20-and-above age group in 2:48:17.
Cruz finished 16th overall among 20 entries in the women’s Open division, which was dominated by Vietnam’s Kha Ni Nguyen and Huynh Tu Uyen Le, who finished first and second in 2:18:29.86 and 2:19:26.63, respectively.
The meet was organized by Philippine Aquatics Inc. and sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Swimming Federation, with support from the provincial government of Aklan and the municipal government of Malay.
(C) PSC
“I swam a tactical race by trying to keep myself in the lead pack. The weather was good from the first to four rounds while from the fifth and sixth rounds it was a bit wavy or choppy,” said Della.
“You need to last long in this kind of race so I drafted behind the lead swimmers so it didn’t get heavy so much before making my move in the last 500 meters,” added the young athlete.
“It is really great to have competed because the 10K race is like the ultra marathon of swimming and this medal inspires me to believe I can accomplish something here,” said a delighted Della. “I won’t hesitate doing it all over again.”
“I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to give up after the third round because my hips were hurting,” said Cruz, who revealed that she was down with the flu and had not practiced for five days before the meet.
“I had a left hip strain while working out here last June. I thought it would be okay now but then both hips began to hurt. I just thank God I was able to endure it. He gave me strength,” the swimmer, a born-again Christian, said.
Della will be back in action early Saturday morning for the mixed relay, where he will be joined by Alex Tiu, Graziella Sophia Ato, and Nuche Veronica Ibit.
Each swimmer will negotiate a 1,500-meter course, with a male swimmer plunging into action first, followed by two female swimmers before the other male swimmer caps the relay with the anchor leg.
