PARIS. – Para swimmer Angel Mae Otom refused to be awed by being in the Paralympic Games spotlight for the first time Tuesday morning (Tuesday afternoon in Manila), clocking 44.03 second to place seventh and clinch a spot in the finals of the women’s 50-meter backstroke at the La Defense Arena pool here.
Enjoying the moment from the time she plunged into action and emerged from the pool, Otom, 21, finished fourth in the first heat behind China’s He Shenggao (41.31) and Liu Yu (42.59), who finished 1-2, respectively, while Turkey’s Summeye Boyaci (44.84) was third.
Chinese defending champion and top favorite Liu Dong led all the eight qualifiers with a time of 39.48 seconds, ahead of compatriots He and Liu in the finals set at 6:34 p.m. (12:34 a.m. Wednesday Manila time).
Although slightly nervous, Otom relished her Paralympic Games debut backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, saying: “Kinakabahan din po, pero overall masaya din.
Maganda ‘yung experience. Sobrang proud na nakapunta ako dito.”
Asked how to describe in a word how she felt, the swimmer, flashing her sparkling smile, exclaimed: “Fantastic!”
Assistant para swimming coach Brian Ong said his ward didn’t go all out in the heats “kasi mayroon pa pong finals later. Sinecure lang namin ‘yung slot ni Angel in the finals where we are hoping for a better performance.
“To think that this is Angel’s first Paralympics, magandang experience ito para sa kanya. We will use the time we have to mentally prepare her so she can go all out and do better in the finals.”
Providing encouragement for the armless Olongapo City pride, who won four gold medals in the 2023 Cambodia Asean Para Games, was the sixth-place finish of compatriot Ernie Gawilan in the finals of the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7 finals the previous day.
