TOKYO – Swimmer Ernie Gawilan advanced to the finals of the men’s 400-meter freestyle-S7 event early on Sunday in placing sixth overall in the heats of the Tokyo Paralympic swimming championships at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre here.
 
Gawilan clocked four minutes and 58.58 seconds in taking fourth place in the second heat led by Israel’s Mark Malyar, a winner in the 200-meter individual medley earlier, who paced all eight finalists in clocking 4:41.81.
 
A triple gold medalist in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Pinoy swimmer will be in lane No. 7 in the finals set at 5 p.m. (4 p.m. in Manila) in the afternoon.
 
There are two PH Paralympians vying for medals today, with wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan competing in the finals of the men’s 1,500-meter-T52 race at 8:42 p.m. (7:42 p.m.) over at the Japan National Stadium.
 
Both Gawilan and Mangliwan are 2016 Rio Paralympic veterans and spearhead the five-man national team whose participation here is fully supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.(PR)