Ernie Gawilan competed in his third Paralympic Games, repeating his sixth place finish in the men's 400m freestyle - S7 event from Tokyo 2020.
Three-time Paralympian Ernie Gawilan bows out of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, finishing sixth in the final of the men's 400m freestyle - S7 swimming event.
Gawilan qualified on Monday, Philippine time, by finishing first in Heat 2 with a time of 4:58.29.
A few hours later in the final, Gawilan lagged in seventh place during the first half of the competition. He managed to outswim China's Huang Xianquan in the second half of the race to finish sixth with a time of 5:03.18.
The Filipino para swimmer repeated his sixth place finish in the same event from Tokyo 2020, albeit with a time of 4:56.24.
Last Saturday, Gawilan also competed in the men's 200m individual medley- SM7 heat, finishing last with a time of 2:56.39.
In a Facebook message, Gawilan thanked Filipinos for their support in his campaign.
"Maraming salamat po sa tiwala niyo. Ginawa ko na po lahat, mailap lang po talaga. Pagpaumanhin niyo po sana ako kung 'di ko kayo lahat ma-replayan," he wrote.
"Sobrang[2x] appreciate ko po kayong lahat. Kayo naman po 'yung ipagdasal ko na ingatan at pagpalain kayong lahat ng Diyos. God bless you all."