PARIS – Para swimmer Angel Mae Otom had ambivalent feelings about her debut in the 17th Paris Paralympic Games Tuesday at the La Defense Arena pool here.
While grateful that she was competing against the world’s best, Otom felt discontented about her form, believing that she could have done better than her sixth place finish in the women’s 50-meter backstroke S5 finals with a time of 44 seconds flat in the evening (early morning Wednesday).
“Masaya akong nandito pero sayang, sayang. Pangit yung last 15 meters ko. Pinilit ko lang matapos maski sa sakit na naramdaman ko,” added the armless swimmer, who had kept pace early with the vaunted Chinese troika, led by defending champion Lu Dong.
Living up to her top billing, Lu led all the way in clinching her second straight gold in the event with 37.51 seconds while compatriots He Shenggao (39.93) and Liu Yu (42.37) took the bronze, respectively.
“Hindi ako masaya sa langoy ko. Hopefully next game alam ko na yung areas to improve,” said Otom, who was once ranked No. 2 in the event and seemed poised for a podium finish only to fade in the homestretch.
“Medyo marami pa kaming dapat i-work on. Although her training is okay, she needs to be comfortable in those things to make her better more consistently,” deputy para swimming coach Brian Ong noted.
“Pero hindi ito ang kanyang huling laban. Bata pa si Angel. We are looking forward to her outing in the women’s 50-meter butterfly on Friday,” the coach said. “We are still proud of her performance. This was a good learning experience for her.”
Indeed, Otom, whose trip like the rest of the PH para contingent is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, quickly shrugged off her disappointment and was back to her bubbly self in no time.
“Madami pang laro, may worlds pa, may Paralympics pa. muli,” she quipped.
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Wheelchair racer Mangwilan eyes finals in 100-meter T52 race
PARIS – Although acknowledging it was not his forte, wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan vowed to give it his all and reach the finals of the men’s 100-meter T52 finals in the 17th Paris Paralympic Games track and field meet at the La Stade Arena here Thursday.
“Hindi po talaga yan ang forte ko, pero ang basic target po namin nila coaches Joel (Deriada) and Bernard (Buen) maka-qualify sa finals,” said Mangliwan on the eve of his event scheduled at 9:01 p.m. Thursday (3:01 p.m. Friday in Manila) and the finals at 11:32 a.m. (5:32 p.m.) the next day.
He, however, booked a personal best of 18.65 seconds in bagging the silver medal in the same event in last year’s Hangzhou Asian Para Games, a marked improvement over his time of 20.08 seconds in placing eighth in the finals in the Tokyo edition of the elite meet three years ago.
“We realize that Jerrold is the underdog in this event so our first goal is to qualify first to the finals then think of our next game plan later,” Deriada said, adding that they were better prepared in case it rains in the heats and finals.
Expecting sunny conditions, the Tabuk, Kalinga pride was stymied by the downpour in the heats and finals of the men’s 400-meter T52 race last week, eventually winding up eighth among the finalists last week.
“Ayaw ko pong mag-dahilan, pero talagang nahirapan po kami sa ulan pero naging madulas yung push ring kaya naging mahirap mag-propel ng wheelchair. Hindi naging maganda yung contact,” he explained.
Nonetheless, the national team skipper, appearing in his third straight Paralympic Games, was determined to go the extra mile in making his country proud in the stint supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
“Eto na ang huling event ko dito sa Paris kaya dapat lang na pagbutihin ko alang alang sa karangalan ng ating bansa,” Mangwilan said.
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Otom aims to secure medal in final race
PARIS—Angel Mae Otom slowed down approaching the wall and missed out on a medal here in the 17th Paralympic Games.
Otom vowed to do better in her next race.Sayang, medyo bad swim. Pumangit ang langoy ko sa last 15 (meters),’’ said the 21-year-old national para swimming ace after completing the women’s 50-meter backstroke S5 final at sixth place. World record holder Lu Dong easily claimed the gold in 37.51 seconds, spearheading a podium sweep for the Chinese along with silver performer He Shenggao (39.93) and Liu Yu, who snatched the bronze medal in 42.37. The reigning champion in the same event at the Asean Para Games was almost locked in at third and seemed headed toward the podium after exploding off the blocks. But Liu came speeding from behind in the last 10 meters, towing Turkey’s Sumeyye Boyaci (43.30) and Great Britain’s Tully Kearney (43.40), both of them throwing themselves to the finish. The armless Otom arrived just a split second later in 44 seconds, her head in contact with the wall to register the clocking. Marami pa kaming areas na kailangang i-work out. We need to improve on the finish. Comfortable naman siya sa training pero she has to do it with consistency na tuloy-tuloy,’’ said national para swimming assistant coach Bryan Ong.
Otom, a third-year student from the UP Diliman College of Human Kinetics, is prepping up for her final event come Friday in the 50m butterfly S5, where she promised to go all out this time.
“I have to perform better. Kailangan physically and mentally prepared ako sa laban na iyan,’’ said the 21-year-old Otom, who won four gold medals in last year’s Asean Para Games in Cambodia.
Photo credit: Philippine Paralympic Committee
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