Sixteen-year-old Nicole Oliva could make it to the national swimming team in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Philippine Swimming Inc. president Lani Velasco said Oliva is one of their top prospects for next year’s biennial meet.
“She could make it after her performance in the Youth Olympic Games,” said Velasco.
Oliva, who is from Sta. Clara, California, was the only junior athlete who qualified in four events with qualifying times for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, making it to the finals of two events in the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle.
Oliva’s sixth-place finish and clocking of 4:16.61 made her a prospect of the national swimming team.
She is now being prepared to compete in the Olympic trials in the United States in February next year.
Oliva will also participate in the SEA Age Group Championships in Cambodia in July and the SEA Games’ hosting of the country later in the year.
Velasco talked about the ongoing preparations of the national team following a special meeting of the national congress of the PSI last Friday at the Manila Yacht Club in Roxas Blvd.
During the meeting, discussions of the PSI’s past achievements and its plans for the coming year took place in the presence of a top swimming official, Jeffrey Leow from Singapore.
Leow, who is the vice president of the Asian Swimming Federation and the Southeast Asian Swimming Federation, dropped by to visit the new board members of the PSI.”‹
