Kayla Sanchez anchors PH team to 4x100m freestyle gold in smashing SEA Games debut

CHONBURI, Thailand – Olympic medalist Kayla Sanchez enjoyed a splendid Southeast Asian Games debut as she, Xiandi Chua, Chloe Isleta, and Heather White swam their way to the gold medal in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay at the SAT Swimming Pool in Bangkok on Wednesday, December 10.

Sanchez, Chua, Isleta, and White — the Philippines’ second gold medalist after poomsae standout Justin Kobe Macario — clocked 3 minutes and 44.26 seconds to end the years-long reign of Singapore, which ruled the event in each of the past five SEA Games.

The quartet also eclipsed the times of Singapore’s gold-winning squads in the 2021 Vietnam (3:45.71) and 2023 Cambodia (3:44.29) editions.

Singapore settled for silver for the first time since 2013 with a time of 3:46.53, while Vietnam bagged bronze with 3:47.47.

The women’s 4x100m freestyle relay is the same event where Sanchez, 24, won an Olympic silver with Canada in the Tokyo Games in 2021, two years before she officially switched federations to the Philippines.

Sanchez clinched an Olympic bronze in the women’s 4x100m medley in the same Games as well.

Meanwhile, Chua won a SEA Games medal in the event for the second straight edition after nailing silver in 2023 together with Jasmine Alkhaldi, Miranda Renner, and Teia Salvino.

It is also the second SEA Games gold for both Isleta and Chua, who topped the women’s 200m backstroke in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Swimming produced two medals on Day 1 of the swimming competitions, with Gian Christopher Santos getting silver in the men’s 200m medley.

A SEA Games first-timer, Santos registered 2:03.88 to finish behind Vietnam’s Hung Nguyen Tran, who struck gold with 2:02.11. – Rappler.com