MANILA – Para-swimmer Ernie Gawilan became the first Filipino athlete to earn a qualification slot in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games slated from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6 in Tokyo, Japan.
Philippine Para-swimming coach Tony Ong said the International Paralympic Committee has confirmed the allocation or qualification of one Filipino swimmer due to the cancellation of some qualifying tournaments because of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
The Philippines was granted one para-swimming slot despite its failure to compete at the cancelled Singapore World Para Qualifier, which was given to Gawilan who earned the most of the qualifying points.
Gawilan, who first qualified at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, already earned Paralympic qualifying points at the 2018 Asian Para Games and 2019 World Para Championships in London.
However, Gawilan needs to compete in one more para-qualifier to re-classify his disability before formalizing his entry to the Tokyo Para Games.
Meanwhile, Ong said they are looking to bring in more Philippine para-swimmers in the succeeding qualification tournaments since most of them have met the qualifying standards but need more points./PN
