Sanchez and company top the 4×100-meter relay in SEA Games

CHONBURI — How do you make a big splash on your Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) debut?

For Olympian Kayla Sanchez, it’s helping the Philippines to a milestone in the swimming relays.

“(It’s) very special, with all my teammates, my whole family with me here. I’m very excited to make the country proud,” said Ms. Sanchez who opened her SEAG account with gold in the women’s 4×100-meter (m) relay in part-nership with Heather White, Chloe Isleta and Xiandi Chua on Wednesday in Bangkok.

This marked the first time for the country to rule the 4×100 m freestyle — or any women’s relay event for that matter — in the biennial meet.

Ms. Sanchez, who previously won silver in the same event in the Tokyo Olympics while still swimming for Canada, threw down a 53.79 split as anchor to create a two-second gap against defending champion and eventual run-ner-up Singapore.

The final clocking of Ms. Sanchez and Co. stood at 3:44.26 — a record that eclipsed the old 3:44.31 that the Fil-Canadian herself set alongside Ms. Chua, Jasmine Alkhaldi and Teia Salvino at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

“My first race (in the SEAG) is a relay so it wasn’t just me, it’s the team and they made me less nervous. It was much more fun as a first race to be with the relays so I’m happy,” said Ms. Sanchez.

After getting approval from World Aquatics to switch sporting nationality in 2023, the 24-year-old Ms. Sanchez began representing the Philippines at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

She then swam for the country at the 2024 Paris Olympics, setting a new national mark of 53.67 and reaching the semifinals of the 100m free.

Last Wednesday, it was time to take her act to the SEAG.

“Atmosphere is the same. It’s a smaller competition, heats go by really fast and I’m still learning. I have my teammates here to teach me and to keep me grounded. So I’m excited for the rest of the competition,” she said.

And the two-time Olympic podium finisher and multiple medalist in world championships is just warming up.

VALDERAMA SETTLES FOR BRONZE
Like downhill bronze medalist John Farr before him, Mark Louwel Valderama did the honor of touching off Team Philippines’ medal harvest on Thursday.

Mr. Valderama pedaled to a podium finish in the 33rd SEA Games men’s cross-country eliminator event behind Indonesian winner Rendy Varera Sanjaya and Malaysian runner-up Zulfikri Zulkifli in the opening hostilities of Day 2 here.

It was a breakthrough for the 24-year-old mountain bike rider from Sta. Maria, Bulacan, who was fifth in XCE last time in Cambodia and 10th in cross country in the preceding SEAG in Vietnam.

When he crossed the finish line, Mr. Valderama was awash with emotion, drained physically and mentally after going all out in the big final at the 400-meter track built inside the Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

Mr. Valderma got in good position in the four-man finale when he overtook top contender Watcharakorn Onthuree of Thailand for second place at the first turn with the home bet crashing and falling way behind the medal chase. Eventually Mr. Zulkifli edged past a tiring Mr. Valderma at second and forced the latter to settle for third. — Olmin Leyba