PARIS — Angel Mae Otom slowed down approaching the wall and missed out on a medal here in the 17th Paralympic Games.
Otom vowed to do better in her next race.
“Sayang, medyo bad swim. Pumangit ang langoy ko sa last 15 (meters),’’ said the 21-year-old national para swimming ace after completing the women’s 50-meter backstroke S5 final at sixth place.
World record holder Lu Dong easily claimed the gold in 37.51 seconds, spearheading a podium sweep for the Chinese along with silver performer He Shenggao (39.93) and Liu Yu, who snatched the bronze medal in 42.37.
The reigning champion in the same event at the Asean Para Games was almost locked in at third and seemed headed toward the podium after exploding off the blocks.
But Liu came speeding from behind in the last 10 meters, towing Turkey’s Sumeyye Boyaci (43.30) and Great Britain’s Tully Kearney (43.40), both of them throwing themselves to the finish.
The armless Otom arrived just a split second later in 44 seconds, her head in contact with the wall to register the clocking.
“Marami pa kaming areas na kailangang i-work out. We need to improve on the finish. Comfortable naman siya sa training pero she has to do it with consistency na tuloy-tuloy,’’ said national para swimming assistant coach Bryan Ong.
Otom, a third-year student from the UP Diliman College of Human Kinetics, is prepping up for her final event come Friday in the 50m butterfly S5, where she promised to go all out this time.
“I have to perform better. Kailangan physically and mentally prepared ako sa laban na iyan,’’ said the 21-year-old Otom, who won four gold medals in last year’s Asean Para Games in Cambodia.
