BESTING NUMEROUS domestic rivals, the Ateneo Swimming Team (AST) delivered an outstanding showcase of skill at the Philippine Aquatics National Trials 2024 in both the Short Course (SC) and Long Course (LC) Open Age tournaments.

The Blue Eagles’ standout performances secured spots for the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024 and the South East Asian Age Group Swimming Championships both set in December.

The tournament qualifiers, which featured an estimated number of 500 aspirants, took place from August 15–23 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate in the City of Manila.

Freestyle

Blue Eagle Miguel Barreto kicked off his tournament run with a splash, finishing first in the Boys’ 400 SC Meter Freestyle event with a remarkable time of 4:00.87 minutes.

Barreto once again dazzled the Malate crowd after he completed the 100 SC Meter Freestyle in just 49.87 seconds for a strong second-place finish.

The swimmer carried his dominance into the 200 SC Meter Freestyle, securing first place with a time of 1:49.68 minutes. With his stellar showing in the tourney, the younger Barreto brother officially qualified for the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024 SC tournament in Budapest.

In the Girls’ division, Mishka Sy delivered commendable performances throughout her run, finishing fourth in the 400 SC Meter Freestyle and seventh in the 100 SC Meter Freestyle event.

Butterfly

Seasoned veteran Rafael Barreto overpowered 46 opponents in the 100 SC Meter Butterfly for third place, clocking in at 53.72 seconds—almost three seconds ahead of San Beda University’s Albert Amaro.

Clinching another podium placement, Barreto captured third in the 50 SC Meter Butterfly with a time of 24.23 seconds—narrowly missing second place by four milliseconds.

Nevertheless, the third-place finish still helped the swimmer qualify for the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024 SC tournament.

Breaststroke

The Breaststroke events featured a determined showing by the AST, as three members dominated the category in style. The first display of Ateneo supremacy came in the 50 SC Meter Breaststroke from Rafael Isip and Ateneo alumnus Rian Tirol, who secured fourth and first-place finishes, respectively.

Tirol continued this streak of play in the 100 SC Meter Breaststroke, achieving first place with a time of 1:00.91 minutes to clinch a spot in the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024 SC tournament.

Meanwhile, Isip unfortunately found himself disqualified in the 100 SC Meter Breaststroke despite clocking in 1:03.54 minutes—which would have been tied for third in the race. As of writing, the tournament’s official website has yet to disclose the reason behind the disqualification.

The Girls’ category also provided positive results for the Atenean contingent via stellar performances from Ateneo alumnus Annika Isip, who bested 26 other swimmers en route to the 100 SC Meter title with a time of 1:12.41. She also attained another podium finish, finishing third in the 200 SC Meter event at 2:39.47.

Individual Medley

The AST’s performances in the individual medley (IM) showed a lot of promise, with Sy competing in two different events.

The Atenean swimmer secured a fourth-place finish in the 200 SC Meter event with a time of 2:25.10. Determined to show her true capabilities, Sy dominated in the 400 SC Meter event en route to first place with a time of 5:05.40, almost four seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Backstroke

The AST duo of Sy and Ivo Enot showcased their skills in the backstroke category, placing well in their respective events. Enot’s performances secured him a place in the South East Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in Bangkok.

Enot’s dominant display began at the Boys’ 16-18 50 LC Meter event, winning the event with a time of 27.24 seconds. He continued his streak of first-place finishes by topping the Boys’ 16-18 100 LC meter event with a time of 58.84 seconds, being the only swimmer to finish the event in under a minute. Enot rounded out his trifecta of stellar performances by winning the Boys’ 16-18 200 LC Meter event, finishing with a time of 2:12.14.

Additionally, Enot also copped a second-place finish in the Boys’ 100 SC Meter event with a time of 56.40 seconds—0.29 seconds behind winner Jerard Dominic Jacinto from Ftw Royals Swim Club.

In the Girls’ 16-18 100 LC Meter event, Sy nearly topped the ladder, nabbing third place with a time of 1:03.79 minutes.

Sy continued her impressive form, finishing fourth in the Girls’ 16-18 100 LC Meter event with a time of 1:05.48. She then followed up with a series of podium finishes under the category, a third-place finish in the Girls’ 200 SC Meter event with a time of 2:22.08.

The Blue Eagle spectacularly capped off the trials by winning the Girls’ 19 and Over 100 LC Meter event with a time of 1:07.24 and the Girls’ 19 and Over 200 LC Meter event with a time of 2:26.51.