AthleteNews & Updates

Olympics: Disappointed Sanchez aims to do better for Philippines

Photo courtesy of: kaylasanchez_/ig

The Olympic dream ends for Kayla Sanchez after a semifinals stint in Paris.

After competing for Canada and helping them win a pair of medals in the Tokyo Olympics, Sanchez made sure to bring the same fire and passion to the Philippines after making a nationality switch in 2022.

From the get-go in the Round of 32, she proved that she can hang with the best of her class, keeping step by step with the favorites such as Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong, Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands, and Torri Huske of the United States. 

Showcasing her winning form, the 23-year old finished at 53.67 seconds in Heat 4 which was enough to catapult her into the Top 16 and on pace for a possible podium finish once again.

The daughter of two Filipino immigrants living in Canada wounded up at 10th overall in the heats along with Anna Hopkin of Great Britain.

Her efforts also led to setting a new national record for the Philippines – beating the previous record she set – in the 100m women’s freestyle which was the cherry on top of her qualification to the next round. 

Unfortunately, the semifinals is where the road ended for the promising talent as she placed 15th overall out of 16 in the women’s 100m freestyle inside the Paris La Defense Arena on July 31 (Wednesday, 3AM Manila Time).

She capped at 54.21 seconds and missed out on having a spot in the top eight to have a chance at the medal round. 

Team USA’s Gretchen Walsh clocked at 53.18 seconds to bag the last spot while Sanchez was a whole second away from catching up. 

She expressed her disappointment In an interview with One Sports, saying, “I’m not super happy with the swim to be honest, but all I can do is look forward and strive to be better.”

In the end, she mentioned that her confidence was lacking which led to a less-than-ideal finish. 

“I just need more confidence in the race. I trained really hard and I’m hoping it translates one day so I can be up there on the podium,” Sanchez stated.  

The love she received from her countrymen and overall positivity gave her hope that she will be able to make the nation proud in the next opportunity she gets. 

“I’m super grateful for the opportunities that I received and I’m super grateful for all the support. Never give up on your dreams, surround yourself with people that love you and tuloy ang laban.”

Born in Singapore to Filipino immigrants, she now has officially arrived to help her parents homeland find a place in aquatics with hopefully medals in near future. 

Teofilo Yldefonso was the last Filipino swimmer to bring home medals back to the home land as he won a pair of bronze medals in the 1928 Amsterdam and 1932 Los Angeles Quadrennial Event. 

Sanchez will now take this time to reflect and refresh her mind after grueling months of training.