Bernet Antonio Gonzaga (left) and Kleone Mole (right). CDN Digital photo / Glendale Rosal

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A Boholana and a Dumagueteño clinched the first two gold medals in the swimming event of the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) 2024 on Sunday, May 5, at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) swimming pool.

They are Dumaguete’s Bernet Antonio Gonzaga and Tagbilaran City’s Kleone Mole, who ruled the 1,500-meter freestyle secondary boys and secondary girls’, respectively, while the other events featured on the first day of the meet was the para-swimming tilt.

Although they both shone in the same event, Gonzaga and Mole had contrasting experiences in CVIRAA last year.

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CVIRAA experience

The 13-year-old Gonzaga earned his first gold medal in the CVIRAA. His gold medal boosts his chances of qualifying for the Palarong Pambansa, especially if he tops the rest of his events in the 400m freestyle, 400m butterfly, 400m Individual Medley (IM), and 800m freestyle.

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Still, he is very proud of himself for clinching the gold medal despite being a rookie in his division and outperforming 16 other tankers. On top of that, he improved his silver medal finish last year in Carcar City.

“I’m very proud that I placed first and got the gold medal in the swimming event for Dumaguete. I wasn’t really expecting to win, I just did my best. I joined the Ateneo Magis Eagles Invitational. It was a good experience,” said Gonzaga of the Silliman University in Dumaguete City.

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“It feels really good, I’m still young and I have a long way to go. I’m a first-timer, pero wala ko na pressure because I trained for this. I will train harder and sacrifice a lot of things. I was first year of high school last year when I first competed, it was good, I liked my performance, but not was able to play for Palaro.”

Gonzaga finished the grueling 1,500m freestyle swim in 19 minutes, and 16.16 seconds, while Negros Oriental’s Sky Gako finished with a silver medal by clocking in 19:24.44. Danao City’s Beboy Dolen earned the bronze medal in 19:32.66.

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DISQUALIFIED IN FIRST PALARO

Meanwhile, Mole, 15, still remembers her Palarong Pambansa heartache last year in Marikina City. It was after she was disqualified due to residency issues since she transferred from Cagayan de Oro to Tagbilaran City.

Worse, she was informed that she was disqualified from competing in the Palarong Pambansa on the day of the competition itself.

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Mole was saddened but vowed to bounce back strong. Now, she’s fully qualified and Mole didn’t waste the opportunity and made sure to bag the gold medal in the secondary girls’ 1,500m freestyle.

She finished it in 19:12.90, while Naga City’s Bobyn Simone Wachter claimed the silver medal in 20:44.25, and Dumaguete City’s Summer Clarisse Pacatang rounded off the top three tankers in 22:06.88.

“I feel very proud of myself because I trained very hard for this. I was expecting and very confident of winning the swim. I trained for two months for this, after the city meet, I trained right away,” said Mole, a 10th grader from the University of Bohol Victoriano B. Tirol.

“I was disqualified in Palarong Pambansa. I felt very sad but it’s something to learn also for future competitions. I’m more motivated and I can finally compete in Palarong Pambansa.”

Mole was accompanied by her father and trainer Andrew, and her coach Vilea Cornell. Like Gonzaga, Mole has several long-distance swims left to compete in CVIRAA 2024.

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