MANILA, Philippines – Swimmer Kayla Sanchez is back on the Olympic stage, but she carries a different flag this time around.
Sanchez will compete for the Philippines in the Paris Olympics three years after helping Canada win a pair of medals in the Tokyo Games as she hopes to honor her roots.
“It has always been on my mind being able to represent the Philippines,” the 23-year-old Sanchez told PlayItRight TV. “It is a part of my heritage.”
Born in Singapore to Filipino parents Noel and Susana, Sanchez and her family moved to Canada, where she started swimming at the age of four initially as a weekly activity until she got better and took the sport more seriously.
Sanchez boasts of a long list of credentials highlighted by a women’s 4x100m freestyle silver and a women’s 4x100m medley bronze in Tokyo, making her the only multiple Olympic medalist out of the 22 Filipino bets in Paris.
Her other accolades include three golds in the short course and two silvers in the long course editions of the World Aquatics Championships, two silvers in the Commonwealth Games, and two bronzes in the Pan Pacific Championships.
For Sanchez, her success in swimming would not be possible without her parents, who not only provided her support but also served as role models when it came to putting in the work.
“I learned from my parents to be very hardworking. My parents worked a lot,” said Sanchez.
“They were also a big part of the decision for me moving to the Philippines. I want to represent their country and make them proud.”
New challenge
Opting to make the nationality switch in 2022, Sanchez completed a one-year residency before she debuted for the Philippines in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, last year.
There, Sanchez came close to becoming the first Filipino swimmer to win an Asian Games medal since 1998, finishing fifth in the women’s 100m freestyle and sixth in the women’s 50m backstroke.
She currently owns the Philippine records in those two categories plus another one in the women’s 50m freestyle.
While coming from a diverse background, Sanchez is as Filipino as it gets.
Sanchez said she enjoys the company of relatives, loves Filipino food, and is in the process of learning how to speak fluent Tagalog.
“This will be so special for me because both my parents and my whole family is Filipino. I’ve grown up very Filipino – the Filipino parties, karaoke, Filipino ulams (viands),” Sanchez told Radyo Sports Pilipinas.
“I think this time, now that I finally get to represent the flag, it is going to be very special for me and my family.”
Qualifying for the Olympics alongside Filipino-American Jarod Hatch through the universality rule, Sanchez will see action in the women’s 100m freestyle, with the goal of reaching at least the semifinals.
Sanchez said she wants to inspire young Filipino swimmers and make them believe that they can also excel on the world stage.
“I’m just super excited because it is the Filipino flag that gets to advance, not just me, it is all of the Philippines. If I can do that for the country, it will be such an honor,” said Sanchez. – Rappler.com