6-yr.-old swimmer wins 6 medals during Asian Aquatic Championships

For a six-year-old kid, obtaining six medals in an international sports competition is a major life milestone and accomplishment.

What’s more astonishing is that the kid was only trained for six months prior to his competition, as shared by his mother, Angelica Gulapan in an interview with GURU Press Cordillera.

“Sabi nga po nung coach nila, gifted daw po siya sir kasi sa age niya at yung ilang buwan palang po na nag-training, ang laki daw po ng improvement niya,” she narrated.

Angelica, along with her husband and other child, accompanied their son, RJ Joe Lumbao, a grade one student in Cauayan City, Isabela as he competed in the recently concluded Asian Aquatic Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

Having witnessed her son haul 3 golds, 1 silver, and 2 bronzes in the competition made her burst with pride and joy.

Angelica relayed that RJ, despite his age, performed the best among all other participants in the 50m breaststroke category, 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, and 50m freestyle kicks.

As a proud mom, she also posted a touching Facebook post in honor of her child’s accomplishment.

“It’s an honor to post on social media that our son RJ Joe Lumbao got 6 medals during competition from Asian Open Schools Aquatic Championships Bangkok Thailand. We are so very proud of you, my little son,” she proudly shared on her Facebook account.

While celebrating RJ’s accomplishments, the proud mom also expressed gratefulness to her son’s coach, Elmer Corpuz for ‘doing all his best’ in training her kid and all the other kids interested in said sports event.

She likewise extended a congratulatory message to other kids who participated in the same event.

“To all swimmers of ECC, those competing in the Asian Aquatic Championships, congratulations to all of you kids and to parents, you really did a good job...,” she said.

To recall, Mark Justine Africano, a Grade 8 student from the same province, also bagged three medals in the same sports competition - a gold medal, a silver, and a bronze.

The Asian Open Schools Aquatic Championships

The Asian Open Schools Aquatic Championships is an invitational competition participated in by athletes from various Asian countries.

“The objective is to develop and elevate the level of swimming proficiency among young talents, fostering moral and physical qualities derived from fair competition in aquatic sports, and to promote international respect, friendship, bonding, goodwill, peace, and clean environments,” their website says.