Olympian swimmer Kayla Sanchez gave her father the ultimate gift by capturing her third gold in the 100m backstroke in the Southeast Asian Games 2025 in Thailand.
On a special day, Kayla Sanchez had extra motivation to add another gold to her SEA Games 2025 tally.
The Olympian delivered yet another commanding performance, this time in the women’s 100m backstroke at the Sport Authority of Thailand Aquatics Center
Saturday, Dec. 11.
[ALSO READ: 'Golden girl' Kayla Sanchez swims way to another SEA Games 2025 victory in 100m backstroke]
Sanchez surged into an early lead and held her composure down the stretch, clocking in at 1:02.35 to claim her third gold of the competition.
Mia Miller of Thailand took the silver while Flarence Candrea of Indonesia completed the podium finishers with her bronze mint.
Sanchez now medaled in every event she has competed in, which included the 4x100m freestyle relay (gold), 200m freestyle (silver), 50m backstroke (silver), and 100m freestyle (gold).
Gold for Pops
The victory carried extra significance, as it fell on the birthday of her father, Noel.
“I knew I had to get out fast, stay calm in the last 50 meters. And it’s also my dad’s birthday today, so I wanted to win this medal for him and win golds for the Philippines,” Sanchez said in an interview.
“My whole family is here, and that means so much to me that we share this moment together,” she added.
The 28-year-old tanker also admitted that her earlier silver medal finishes fueled her determination to rule the remaining events.
“It motivates me to win. I was heartbroken and felt like I let myself and the country down, and now I’m so motivated to win more golds,” Sanchez said, with four more events still ahead of her campaign.
(With reports from Mei-Lin Lozada/One Sports)
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP and other leagues.