WORLD BEACH BOUND. A group photo of the Philippine rowing team composed of (L-R) Nicanor Jasmin (coach), Kristine Paraon, Cris Nievarez, Kharl Julienne Sha, Feiza Jane Lenton, Christian Joseph Jasmin, Zuriel Sumintac, Edgar Ilas, Joanie Delgaco, Amelyn Pagulayan and Edgardo Maerina (coach) after the awarding ceremony of the Asian Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in Pattaya, Thailand on April 30, 2023. The mixed double sculls pair of Ilas and Delgaco won the gold medal and qualified for the World Beach Games this August in Bali, Indonesia. (Contributed photo)
MANILA – Edgar Ilas and Joanie Delgaco qualified for this year's World Beach Games after topping the coastal mixed double sculls category at the Asian Rowing Beach Sprint Championships held from April 28-30 at the Ambassador Hotel in Pattaya City, Thailand.
The Thais, who took the silver medal, also earned the trip to Bali, Indonesia which will host the World Beach Games from Aug. 5-12.
Thailand got another slot in the men's single sculls category while Japan qualified in the women's single sculls category.
Ilas and Delgaco are both medalists at the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG). They teamed up only for a month.
The 34-year-old Ilas has been with the national team since 2010. He bagged the silver medal at the 2018 Asia Cup and the bronze medal at the 2016 Asian Beach Sprint Championship. At the SEA Games, he won one silver (2013) and three bronzes (2011, 2019 and 2022).
Delgaco, 25, joined the national team in 2015. She pocketed the bronze medal at the 2016 Asian Rowing Championships. She won the gold medal during the 2019 Manila SEAG, and had one silver and two bronze medals in Vietnam last year.
Meanwhile, the Philippines garnered one gold and one bronze medals in the categories which are not World Beach Games qualification.
Zuriel Sumintac and Cris Nievarez (not Christian Joseph Jasmin) ruled the coastal men's double sculls, beating Korea and United Arab Emirates.
Amelyn Pagulayan and Kristine Paraoan finished third in the coastal women's double scull won by Indonesia. Thailand placed second.
The national rowers trained for three weeks at the Ternate Rowing Academy Center in Cavite before going to Thailand.
"The training at Ternate beach was a big help for us. The training we used to do at La Mesa dam was very different because the competition here (Thailand) was short distance and there's running so it was a different kind of preparation than classic rowing," head coach Ed Maerina said in an interview on Wednesday.
"In Ternate, we ran uphill with a sprint, so that they can speed up even more in running. At sea, the difference is huge in flat with strong winds and waves in different directions, so the rowers should learn the movement of the water,” he said.
"About our two solo, the boat of Cris (Nievarez) capsized during the quarterfinal, so he dropped immediately. Feiza Jane (Lenton) reached the Final 2 fighting for the bronze but she finished fourth," he added.
The 2023 World Beach Games features 14 sports: air badminton, aquathlon, 3x3 basketball, beach soccer, beach sprint, beach handball, beach tennis, beach water polo, 4x4 beach volleyball, beach wrestling, karate, open water swimming (5km), surfing (long board and short board) and wing foiling.
The Association of National Olympic Committees (NOC) organized the first World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar in 2019 with more than 1,200 athletes from 97 countries participating.
Coastal rowing is included in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia and the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. (PNA)
