MANILA, Philippines – Ernie Gawilan’s opening bid didn’t go as planned as the Philippine para swimming veteran exited early — and quite far behind — in his first event in the Paris Paralympics.
Gawilan, a three-time Paralympian, finished last in the 11-man field of the men’s 200m individual medley SM7 after clocking 2 minutes and 56.39 seconds, nearly 21 seconds behind top finisher Andrii Trusov of Ukraine (2:35.80).
It was also far off the time Gawilan registered in the same event in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 (2:50.49)
Only the top eight from the two heats at the La Defense Arena in Paris advanced to the medal round.
But Gawilan, who was born with no legs and an underdeveloped left arm, hopes to come back strong in his pet event, the men’s 400m freestyle S7, on Monday, September 2.
It is in this same event where Gawilan made history in Tokyo, becoming the first Filipino swimmer to reach a Paralympic final. He eventually finished sixth.
The pride of Davao City, though, failed to replicate his strong campaign, falling behind early after registering a slow 37.05 seconds in the first 50 meters. The 33-year-old Gawilan couldn’t recover from there.
“Ernie had some problems in the breaststroke leg and did not like to push it,” said national para swimming coach Tony Ong of Gawilan, who served as one of the country’s flag bearers during the opening ceremony.
Joining Trusov as medal favorites were fellow top heat finishers Christian Sadie of South Africa (2:35.98) and Argentina’s Inaki Basiloff (2:37.99) – Rappler.com