Kayla Sanchez exited the Olympic Games Paris 2024 early, but the Filipina swimmer is already working to improve her future laps.
The Olympic Games was nothing new to Kayla Sanchez.
This was her second appearance in the quadriennial meet, but the first under the Philippine flag.
The 23-year-old Filipina-Canadian tanker was a key member of Team Canada's squad which won silver in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 4x100 medley in Tokyo 2020.
In 2022, she was granted permission to switch federations and compete for the Philippines.
She immediately proved what she got by securing her spot in the women's 100m freestyle semifinals, finishing 10th overall in the heats with 53.67 seconds.
It also reset the Philippine record for the event.
“I think there’s something I could have done better, so there’s still room to improve. I’m so excited. I managed to squeeze through the semifinals, and that was a good swim. I think that we’re able to execute really well,” Sanchez said.
On that same night, Kayla competed in the women’s 100m freestyle semifinals.
Against the world’s top-ranked swimmers such as world record holder Sarah Sjöström of Sweden, the Filipina swimmer could not sustain her momentum and ended up seventh in the heat--ranking 15th overall with a time of 54.21 seconds.
Sanchez admitted she had a mix of emotions after the race. She had her family with her and the support of Filipinos all over the world as well. But missing the podium is tough.
"I'm not super happy with the swim to be honest," she admitted to Cignal TV/One Sports. But she's determined to improve.
“All I can do is look forward and try to be better. I’m training really hard. I’m hoping that it will translate someday and be up there on the podium,” Kayla added.
She's working on a new dive. Maybe it will pay off soon.
"I've been working a new dive. My underwater's always been strong. Just working on my strengths and weaknesses."
So Sanchez's Paris 2024 journey ends here. But she's not giving up.
“An honour to raise the flag 🇵🇭,” she posted on Instagram.
"Super grateful for the opportunity," she said. "Never give up on your dreams. Tuloy ang laban!"
(With reports from Boom Gonzalez/Cignal TV, One Sports)