Airasia brings Ben Proud’s Talent Pool program to aspiring Filipino swimmers

If you want to be the best, you have to train with the best. This is exactly what 60 young Filipino swimmers have experienced as they trained with the best swimmers in the world.

Last February 17, AirAsia Philippines flew in AquaElite coaches to teach young swimmers some competitive swimming skills. The coaches themselves are among the best in their field. Anthony James is a former Olympian who competed side by side with Michael Phelps while Matthew Zammit is a Malta National Swimmer. They are part of the annual talent development programme jointly organized by AirAsia and British Olympic medalist Ben Proud. The partnership aims to support the Olympian’s journey towards qualifying for Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan in 2020.

AirAsia Philippines CEO Captain Dexter Comendador said, “AirAsia’s success story has inspired so many people to dream big and we are delighted to bring this inspiration to a sport that is so well-loved. Through coaching clinics with World Champion athletes, AirAsia is taking part of the journey that encourages and empowers young talents to strive and become future Olympic medalists.”

The 60 local participants were shortlisted by local swimming clubs and schools from Bulacan, Iloilo, Bicol, Cavite and Metro Manila. The young swimmers were taught techniques to improve their swim strokes. Some were also given individual tips to correct their form.

Most sessions were done on the pool as they immediately apply the instructions being given to them by the world-class coaches. There was also a lecture to cover some aspects that can’t be taught on the pool like goal settings, race day preparations and conditioning techniques during actual competition.

Among the 60 swimmers, James Manese from Bulacan and Kara Colaste of San Beda Alabang were further chosen to compete with other best swimmers from swimming clinics scheduled in Cebu, Singapore, Thailand and Australia.

James and Kara will join an intensive training camp which includes gym sessions to improve strength and body conditioning, classroom sessions focused on sports psychology and physiology, as well as swimming sessions to improve tactical aspects of competitive swimming.

Ben Proud is part of AirAsia’s #DARETODREAM athlete line-up alongside national prides including track cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Fatehah Mustapa as well as diver Leong Mun Yee. AirAsia is also working with promising bodybuilder athlete Faiz Ariffin and go-kart driver Muizzuddin Musyaffa, sponsorships of the AirAsia Malaysia Rugby League and AirAsia KL Junior League, with more plans for the campaign in the pipeline.

Follow AirAsia’s Dream journey through the hashtag #daretodream or the latest AirAsia news and activities on Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia) and Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia).