RIYADH, 4 June 2006 — Two Filipino-Canadian children based in Riyadh will compete in this year’s Junior Swimming Olympics in Virginia, USA, next month as part of the Arabian Falcon Swimming Team, Arab News learned yesterday.
Christoper Sadsad, 12, and his eight-year-old sister Christiana were included in the team after winning in the 2006 Arabian National Swimming Competition held on May 25-26 at Aramco Dhahran.
Christiana was No. 1 for her age group with 6 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze.
Christopher was third for his age group with 6 golds, 3 silvers and 3 bronzes. He also posted five national records in 25 freestyle clocking 12:12, 50 freestyle with 26:42, 25 butterfly with 13:11, 50 butterfly with 28:87, and 100 butterfly with 1:06:89.
According to Frank and Luz Sadsad, parents of the two swimmers, the Junior Olympics will be held on July 31 to Aug. 4.
Butch Ortega, a swimmer who represented the Philippines in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, was the first coach of Christopher.
“When Christopher tried out as a swimmer for the British International School, I saw a potential swimmer in him,” said Ortega, who was a former coach of the junior and senior swimming teams of Ateneo de Manila.
Inna Boroda, a Ukrainian, the coach for King Faisal Specialist Hospital’s Flyers Swimming Team, also coaches the Sadsad kids.
“The rigid training schedule for my kids has paid off,” Frank Sadsad told Arab News.
Both Christopher and Christiana train in the pool five times each week, two hours per session.
“At a very young age, the confidence, discipline and motivation that Christiana has earned is simply amazing,” their mother added.
She said their children hope to swim for charity next year in the Philippines and they hope to find sponsors to realize their dreams. “They intend to give the proceeds to charities, particularly to institutions for children in need,” Luz Sadsad said.