THIS eight-year-old girl from Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City could be the next big thing in swimming.

Adrianna Erika Ching made a huge splash in the recent Bo’s Talisay Swimming Challenge where she snatched not one, not two, not even three, but four gold medals.

It was a stellar showing by Ching as she nearly swept the five gold medals at stake in the 7-8 year-old category of the tournament that was part of Talisay’s fiesta celebration.

Ching ruled the 50 short course (SC)-meter freestyle, the 25 SC-meter freestyle, the 25 SC-meter backstroke, and the 25 SC-meter butterfly.

Adrianna’s father, Eric Ching, said the promising swimmer could have swept her category if only she did not waste precious time during the 25 SC-meter breaststroke event.

In the breaststroke event, Adrianna’s goggles were dislodged shortly after she took off, giving her opponents crucial headway. Adrianna couldn’t recover from the starting slip, allowing a fifth gold medal to slip away.

Adrianna is part of the University of San Carlos (USC) swimming team, but becoming a member of the Warriors was something that was not planned.

Adrianna enrolled in a swimming workshop and it was there that USC coach Christopher Suerte spotted her potential.

Impressed by Adrianna’s raw skills, Suerte recruited her to join the USC team that is competing in the Cebu Schools Athletic Federation Inc.

“I initially saw her potential in swimming because every time we spent time in a swimming pool, she would not stop swimming. This kid is like a fish who loves to be in the water,” said Eric of Adrianna, the second in the brood of two.

Eric said Adrianna continued to make heads turn as she received further training.

“Imagine her average, for 25 meters, she can finish it in 18 seconds. In the 50 meters, she can complete it in 42 seconds,” Eric enthused.

Four months after joining the Warriors, Adrianna got her baptism of fire, and certainly passed the test with flying colors.

The competition in Talisay was participated by 14 swimming teams from Cebu, Dumaguete, and Bohol with each category featuring more than 20 swimmers.

Eric admitted that Adrianna looked intimated at first. Being a former varsity player of the University of San Jose Recoletos basketball team, Eric was able to share some crucial tips to his daughter on how an athlete’s mindset should be.

“She was scared at first but I told her, being in the competition is just like being in school. You study, then you apply what you learn during the examination. You train and the competition is the examination. It is where you can assess if you are good or not,” Eric said.

For Eric, Adrianna taking the sport of swimming is already an achievement. Winning medals is already a bonus.

“I am just happy that she is into sport because it keeps her away from spending too much time on gadgets,” said Eric.

After her stellar showing in Talisay, Adrianna is gearing up for a bigger tournament in Cebu City slated on November 9 and 10.

Eric said Adrianna’s ultimate goal is to represent the country in international competitions.

At the rate things are going, seeing Adrianna making it big in swimming is certainly not far-fetched.(CCM)

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