MANILA, Philippines – A medal remained elusive for Filipino para swimmer Ernie Gawilan as he ended his campaign in the Paris Paralympics.
Gawilan wrapped up his third straight Paralympics after placing sixth in the final of the men’s 400m freestyle S7 at the Paris La Defense Arena on Monday, September 2.
The reigning Asian Para Games champion clocked 5 minutes and 3.18 seconds in the eight-man race as he replicated his sixth-place finish in the same event in the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago.
Italy’s Federico Bicelli captured gold with a time of 4:38.70 following a tight battle with Ukraine’s Andrii Trusov (4:40.17) and Argentina’s Iñaki Basiloff (4:40.27).
Bicelli swam the first 250 meters trailing initial race leader Basiloff before he got ahead of the pack and maintained the lead the rest of the way.
Trusov bagged silver for the second consecutive edition as he pulled out all the stops in the final 50 meters to edge Basiloff, who settled for bronze.
A medal had appeared to be well within reach for Gawilan, who was born with no legs and an underdeveloped left arm, after he recorded the third-fastest time in the heats, posting 5:00.13.
But the pride of Davao City fell behind early as Bicelli, Trusov, and Basiloff — who ranked fourth, sixth, and seventh, respectively, in the heats — turned the final into a virtual three-man race in the last 150 meters.
Gawilan became the third Filipino to exit the Games after para archer Agustina Bantiloc and para taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin.
The 33-year-old national team veteran also competed in the men’s 200m individual medley SM7, where he failed to reach the final on Saturday, August 31. – Rappler.com