Philippine swimming team at the world championship competition

In the 2024 World Aquatics Championships held in Doha, Qatar, Filipino swimmers faced further challenges as they failed to progress in three additional events on Friday, February 16.

Jarod Hatch was the first to falter, securing the 32nd position out of 66 competitors in the men’s 100-meter butterfly, clocking in at 53.75 seconds. This placed him two ticks behind the top qualifiers, Simon Bucher of Austria (51.42sec), Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan (51.60sec), and Nyls Korstanje of the Netherlands (51.70sec). Hatch’s performance fell short of his own national record of 52.87sec, which he set at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last year.

Xiandi Chua also encountered a setback, finishing 21st in the women’s 200m backstroke with a time of 2 minutes and 15.01sec, two seconds slower than her previous Philippine record of 2:13.20 set at the Cambodia SEA Games. Matching or surpassing her personal best could have secured her a spot in the semifinals, as the last qualifier, Hannah Pearse of South Africa, clocked in at 2:13.26.

Olympian Jasmine Alkhaldi faced similar challenges in the women’s 50m fly, securing the 30th position with a time of 27.32sec, slower than her bronze-medal performance of 27.02sec at the Cambodia SEA Games last year.

Team PH has six more events ahead, including the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, women’s 50m breaststroke (Thanya Dela Cruz), men’s 50m back (Jerard Jacinto), and women’s 50m free (Jasmine Alkhaldi). The remaining two events, the women’s 4x100m medley relay and the women’s 400m medley (Xiandi Chua), are scheduled for Sunday, February 18.

Sports News: Philippine swimming team at the world championship competition