Olympic medalist Kayla Sanchez made a stunning debut at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, capping her formidable performance with a haul of three gold and five silver medals in the swimming competition.

Sanchez, who previously secured two Olympic medals for Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Games, expressed her pride in representing the Philippines this time around.

“It’s very special. I love my teammates, my whole family is here, and I really hope I made the country proud,” she said.

Sanchez immediately made her presence felt by anchoring the 4×100-meter freestyle relay team to a historic gold medal, alongside teammates Xiandi Chua, Chloe Isleta, and Heather White. The squad secured the Philippines’ first-ever gold in that event since joining the Games in 1977.

“My first race was a relay, and it was not just me who did it. They all made me less nervous… It was fun to have them,” a visibly thrilled Sanchez said, crediting her teammates for easing her pre-race tension.

On her second day, Sanchez momentarily shattered the meet record in the 50m backstroke preliminaries, clocking 28.47 seconds, surpassing Indonesia’s Wolf Masniari’s 2023 mark.

However, in a tightly contested final, she settled for silver as Masniari reclaimed the top spot.

Channeling her disappointment, Sanchez delivered a dominant performance in the 100m freestyle the following day, claiming her second gold with a time of 54.82 seconds.

“I got motivated. I was heartbroken [after that silver finish]. I felt that I let the country down, and I am just so proud to achieve this gold,” she shared, revealing the emotional drive behind her win.

She completed her golden hat-trick on her fourth consecutive day of competition, taking the 100m backstroke title with a winning time of 1:02.35.

Sanchez also secured five silver medals, three in individual events—the 200m freestyle, 50m backstroke, and 50m freestyle—and two in relays: the 4x200m freestyle relay and the 4x100m medley relay, significantly contributing to the Philippines’ overall medal count.

The Philippine swimming team capped the event with three golds, eight silvers, and two bronze medals.

The other three silvers were from White (100m Freestyle), Chua (200m backstroke), and Gian Santos (men’s 200m individual).

The bronze medals also came from White (50m freestyle), and Logan Wataru Noguchi (50m butterfly). (PNA)