Meet Fil-Am swimmer aiming for ’24 Olympics on PH national team

Jarod Hatch will compete in the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan on July 14-30, which determines who can compete in the 2024 Olympic Games. CONTRIBUTED

Filipino American from Morgan Hill, California, is one of the top swimmers on the Philippine national team, and he’s aiming for the Olympics in Paris next year.

Jarod Hatch will compete in the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan on July 14-30, which determines who can compete in the 2024 Olympic Games.

Hatch’s 50-meter and 100-meter butterfly competition starts July 24.

The UC Berkeley 2021 graduate whose mother, Gelanie, is Filipina, started swimming with the Philippine national team in 2018.

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In his first Southeast Asian Games in 2019, he won bronze in his two best events, the 50 and 100 fly. He was part of the Philippine mixed medley relay team that took a silver medal.

Hatch took a year off from the pool in 2021, suffering from burnout. But he has come back quickly after seeing therapists and coming to terms with his anxieties.