Fil-Am swimmer Jarod Hatch lifts up Kayla Sanchez after Paris Olympic bid ends
Filipinos support Filipinos!
As Filipino Canadian swimmer Kayla Sanchez ended her bid for a podium finish at this year’s Paris Olympics, fellow Filipino swimmer Jarod Hatch honored her with words of support, expressing his pride in representing the Philippines together.
In an Instagram story posted recently, the Filipino American Olympian shared a photo of himself with Sanchez wearing Francis Libiran’s “Sinag” barongs and offered words of encouragement following her semifinal match.
“For your hard work and resilience, I am proud to represent the Philippines with you, [Kayla Sanchez]!” the University of California, Berkeley tanker wrote on Wednesday morning (PST).
Photo from Jarod Hatch/Instagram
Earlier, the two-time Tokyo Olympic medalist, who represented Canada in 2020, set a new national record by finishing fourth in heat four of her event, qualifying for the semifinals with a time of 53.67 seconds. Overall in that qualifying round, she finished 10th and reached the semifinal match.
However, the 23-year-old Fil-Canadian’s hopes for another medal this year for the Philippines were dashed during the semifinal match. She finished seventh with a time of 54.21 seconds in the women’s 100-meter freestyle, thus exiting the Paris Olympics 2024 medal race at La Defense Arena.
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At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Sanchez showcased her prowess by clinching a silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay and a bronze in the 4x100m medley relay while representing Canada.
Sanchez made headlines with her decision to switch federations from Canada to the Philippines in 2022. The sports committee granted her a waiver, exempting her from the customary three-year residency rule for athletes switching nationalities.
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Hatch, meanwhile, holds the Philippine records in the 50-meter (23.89) and 100-meter (52.87) butterfly events. He is now set to swim for the Philippines (100-meter men’s butterfly) after nearly bidding farewell to the sport due to exhaustion when he initially retired in 2021.
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