LAOAG CITY – National Capital Region’s (NCR) Titus Rafael Sia and Sophia Rose Garra set new records in the 65th Palarong Pambansa swimming competition at Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium here Tuesday.
Sia of Xavier School won the elementary boys’ 200m freestyle in 2 minutes and 7.86 seconds to eclipse the 2:08.12 of Central Luzon’s Rafael Barreto in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental in 2013.
NCR’s Findly Jake Mackenzie came in second (2:12.01) followed by Caraga Region’s Cosme Calejesan III (2:12.89).
In the 100m backstroke, Sia clocked 1:05.44 time to also break the 1:06.38 record set by NCR’s Martin Isaak Seth in the 2015 edition hosted by Tagum, Davao del Norte.
Calabarzon’s Arc Renzy (1:10.36) got the silver medal while teammate Marcus Jared Dula (1:11.36) took the bronze medal.
In the elementary girls’ division, Garra of De La Salle University won the 100m backstroke in 1:07.61 to improve on her record (1:08.50) in Cebu City last year.
Sophia Nicole Obrense of Calabarzon (1:13.99) and Kurile Miles Hechanova of Central Luzon (1:14.01) settled for silver and bronze, respectively.
Garra also triumphed in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2:17.62, beating Hechanova (2:22.97) and Breanna Aaliyah Erno of Caraga (2:23.67).
Calabarzon’s Reinielle Jan Miko Trinidad pulled off a stunning victory in the secondary boys’ 50m butterfly event, setting a new meet record of 25.23 seconds to erase the 25.25 time of Alberto Jose Amaro II in Cebu City.
He prevailed over NCR’s Jamesray Ajido (25.59) and Patrick Anthony Vidal (25.65).
NCR also set new records in the secondary boys’ and girls’ 4x50m medley relay events.
The team of Ryan Zach Danzel Belen, Joaquin Seraphin Taguinod, Patrick Anthony Vidal and Kobie Briel clocked 1:46.92; while the girls team of Kristine Jane Uy, Clara Ysabeka Delos Santos, Savannah Zoey Oliveros and Raina Samantha Leyran won in 2:03.04.
As of 6 p.m., NCR has 19 gold, 13 silver and four bronze medals, followed by Calabarzon (12-14-7), Western Visayas (7-5-7), Northern Mindanao (4-9-12), Central Visayas (4-6-6), CAR (4-4-1), Bicol Region (4-1-6), Davao Region (3-4-4), Caraga (3-2-7) and Eastern Visayas (3-2-3). (PNA)
