Christel Simms, a 16-year-old Filipina and a current Hawaii State swimming champion, has passed the qualifying standard for the 100-meter freestyle event of the Beijing Olympics in August.
And while USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport in the US, has placed Simms as its potential entry to the 2012 London Olympics, her Pinay mother, Jocelyn, sees her carrying the RP flag.
“I call the shots. My daughter is Filipino and will swim for the Philippines. Her uncle was a Filipino national tennis champion so our link to Philippine sports is solid,” said the mother.
Swimming association president Mark Joseph said Simms will definitely race for the Philippines in Beijing, and just became the first Filipina to be part of this year’s team.
Already assured of tickets to Beijing were male swimmers Miguel Molina, Ryan Arabejo, Daniel Coakley and James Walsh, the “Golden Boys” of the 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand last December.
Joseph said FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu has confirmed that Simms’ time of 57.17 seconds during the USA Junior National Swimming Championships last August in Indianapolis is good for Beijing.
“Like Coakley, she is a Hawaii State champion, so that gives us two Pinoys, a male and female as the fastest swimmers in USA Swimming’s Pacific jurisdiction,” said Joseph in a lengthy text message.
Simms is only the seventh Filipina to qualify to the Olympics since the Philippines began competing in the quadrennial event in 1924 in Paris. The others who have carried the tri-colors were Nancy Deano (1976 Montreal), Christine Jacob (1984 Los Angeles), Akiko Thomson (1988 Seoul and 1996 Atlanta), Marie-Liza Danila and Jenny Rose Guerrero (2000 Sydney) and Jacklyn Pangilinan (2004 Athens).
Joseph said Simms is a hot commodity in the US.
“USA Swimming has identified Simms as a potential replacement in the 2012 Olympics for USA’s four-time Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin, whose mom is Pinay and who’s now 21,” he said.
“Fortunately with good ties between PASA and USA Swimming, Christel will continue to have the best training in the world,” added Joseph, who’s looking forward to the race between Simms and Coughlin.
“Beijing will be a nice race between two caliber Pinays from different generations and countries. What better experience from Christel can we dream of?” the PASA chief said.
source: www.philstar.com
By Abac Cordero
Back to top
