Riding on the momentum of their victory last season, the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers seized another win in the recently concluded Women’s Singles Swimming Tournament in the Palarong Atenista ‘24.
After being recruited as a varsity player last 2022 and putting a halt to her swimming streak in Palarong Atenista, SEA’s bet Korinne Bianca Trinidad carved her way through the water with an explosive start.
Trinidad touched the wall in a thrilling finish in the women’s category of both 50-meter and 25-meter butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, and breaststroke, placing first in all the individual categories.
“Joining this year’s Palaro is a way for me to represent the cluster, which is fun considering that I wasn’t able to join in the last season because I was part of the varsity team the year before that,” Trinidad told Atenews.
Leading up to the competition, Trinidad acknowledged the difficulties in creating a well-established schedule for training.
“I just really had to ensure that I could train at least once or twice a week. The days I trained were spent in activity periods when I had a few hours to spare. This typically consisted of endurance laps and technique drills to fine-tune my strength and stamina, even though it wasn’t a consistent schedule,” Trinidad shared.
This proved to be effective in setting herself apart from peers, as she launched her back into the race in a tough fight for the lead.
“Mental focus is really important. During the race, I reminded myself to have fun and stay in the moment, and not let pressure get in the way.”
For Trinidad, going for gold meant giving her best at every event, believing that the secret was to simply apply her previous training sessions correctly all throughout the competition.
“Winning this year’s Palarong Atenista is overwhelming. It is the fruit of considerable amounts of sacrifice, dedication, and perseverance, and it makes me and my teammates extremely happy and honored,” Trinidad said.
As a team, the SEA Tigers also claimed the silver medal in the 4 x 25 freestyle relay and medley relay.
The Social Sciences (SS) Dragons bagged the second spot, with the School of Nursing (SON) Panthers right on their tail with third medal.
The women’s swimming competition was held last September 22, 2024 at the Fr. Malasmas Swimming Pool in the Ateneo de Davao Junior High School Matina Campus.