THE country’s top para-swimmer Ernie Gawilan formalized his Tokyo Paralympics bid after his review classification race in the 2021 World Para Swimming World Series held in Berlin, Germany recently.
The 30 year-old Samal Island native completed his review classification race as confirmed by Philippine para-swimming team head coach Tony Ong. He won a bronze medal for team Philippines in the men’s 400 meter freestyle finals timed at five minutes and 3.74 seconds.
Gawilan is now classified as S7, which the International Paralympic Committee defined as para-swimmers with “one leg and one arm amputation on opposite sides, or a paralysis of one arm and one leg on the same side.”
He is under SB7 in the breaststroke even as referred as “swimmers who have an amputation of one arm and with significant restrictions across hip, knee and ankle joints.”
