THE PHILIPPINES might end up with 16 athletes to the 2004 Athens Olympics next month if swimmer Raphael “Timmy” Chua earns the nod of the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association board of directors.
Chua passed the Olympic Grade B standard over the weekend after clocking 1:04.93 in the 100 meter breaststroke in the Hong Kong Long Course Swimming Championship in Kowloon. To qualify, Chua needed to beat 1:05.02.
But Chua, a 21-year-old Engineering student from the University of the Philippines, competed in the swimfest without permission from the PASA, making his participation in the HK meet as unofficial.
The PASA board was scheduled to deliberate the matter last night, according to Philippine Olympic Committee spokesperson Gus Villanueva, who bared that a July 21 deadline has been set by the International Swimming Federation for late entries.
In the event Chua is given the green light to compete in the August 13 to August 29 Games, he will be the only Philippine-based tanker considering that all four qualifiers, Miguel Molina, Matthew Mendoza, James Walsh and Jackie Pangilinan, are either US-based or Filipino-Americans.
Chua’s fellow swimmers who competed in the former Crown Colony, rallied behind him.
"The Olympics is held once every four years. And to represent the country in the Olympics is a dream come true," said one female swimmer who went to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) yesterday to rally behind Chua.
Even PSC chairman Eric Buhain, a bemedalled swimmer during his heyday, said Chua deserves the Athens stint.
Apart from swimming, other Filipino bets in Greece will come from athletics, boxing, taekwondo, archery and shooting.
