Malabon’s Sophia Rose Garra shows splending form on the way to her third gold medal in topping the girls 12 to 13-year-old backstroke event in the Batang Pinoy National Championships at the Ramon V. Mitra Jr. Sports Complex. PSC photo
Garra makes waves
PUERTO PRINCESA City — Sophia Rose Garra of Malabon City and Arvin Naeem Taguinota II of Pasig City captured their third gold medal in the swimming competitions 2024 Batang Pinoy National Championships in the Ramon V. Mitra Sports Complex pool here Monday.
After securing the 200m individual medley and 100m freestyle golds on opening day, Garra continued to make waves by dominating the girls under-13 200m backstroke with a time of 2:30.00
Garra bested Anika Kathryn Matiling of Bacolod City (2:38.82) and Kidapawan City bet Angella Tane Perez (2:44.45) in the event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and supporte dby the Puerto PRincesa city givernment.
Equally impressive was Taguinota, who registered 2:19.88 to rule the boys under-13 200m backstroke and join Garra as the first triple gold medalists
Behrouz Mojdeh of Parañaque clocked 2:24.49 for the silver medal while Titus Rafael Sia of San Juan wound up with the bronze medal.
Elsewhere, Ysabel Nicole Jamero delivered Iloilo City’s first gold by winning the 12-13 Girls Road Criterium.
Davao City representative Shyrah Rizalido claimed her first-ever Batang Pinoy gold medal by winning the MTB Cross Country Olympics 14-15 Girls event.
In weightlifting, Reynadine Marie Jimenez of Rizal took the gold medal in the children girls 40kg after scoring 43 in snatch and 100 in clean and jerk.
Overall, Quezon City quickly demonstrated its intention to claim the overall crown by winning seven golds, nine silvers, and 12 bronzes on the first day of the competition.
Following closely was Pasig City with a 7-4-10 tally, Defending overall champion Baguio City secured third place with a 6-7-8 medal slate.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo expressed her joy over the development and support of local government units in organizing the annual Batang Pinoy, which she said “plays a significant role in nurturing the youth and providing young athletes with opportunities to succeed in life.”
Diaz-Naranjo personally expressed her gratitude for the staging of the multi-sport competition for athletes aged 17 and below, which has greatly contributed to her life and her growth as an athlete, leading to her historic victory in securing the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold medal.
“Nakakatuwa po na mula noong 2002 na una akong sumali at dahil mag-isa lang ako na kasali sa weight category ay ginto na agad ako. Ngayon ay marami na sumasali, lalo na sa mga kababaihan at madami na din category.”
