Six Golds From a Six-Year-Old
GENERAL SANTOS CITY - General Santos City’s youngest representative, six-year-old Elyannah Marinelli, emerged as the standout performer among the three GenSan swimmers at the 3rd Asian Open Schools Invitational Short Course Swimming Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. She collected six gold medals in the girls’ six-year-old division and was named Most Outstanding Swimmer in her category. Her performance included two tournament records in the 25-meter and 50-meter breaststroke events. The result is remarkable not simply because of the medal count, but because it came at an international competition involving young swimmers from different countries. Elyannah’s Bangkok campaign gave GenSan another promising name to watch in youth swimming.
The Alconera Brothers Add Five More Medals
The medal tally did not stop with Elyannah. Seven-year-old Lucas Elcid Alconera contributed four medals, winning two golds, one silver, and one bronze, while his 12-year-old brother Bruce Lucho Alconera added another bronze. Together, the brothers brought five more medals to the GenSan delegation, helping produce the group’s total of 11. Their results also show the range of ages represented by the city’s young swimmers, from a six-year-old record-setter to a 12-year-old competitor. The performances came during the August 29–30 championships at the Assumption University Aquatic Center in Bangkok, giving the young athletes valuable competition outside the Philippines.
A Bright Result for GenSan’s Grassroots Swimming
The Bangkok results offer a cheerful reminder that competitive swimming is also being pursued by young athletes from General Santos City. The three swimmers competed under the Gensan Grassroots Aqua Rockets Swimming Club, according to Mindanao Gold Star Daily, which reported their 11-medal haul on September 4. Their achievement comes alongside strong performances by other Filipino swimmers at the same AOSI competition, showing the depth of youth participation in the international meet. For GenSan, however, the story is especially personal: three local children traveled to Bangkok, competed in their respective age divisions, and came home with medals, records, and an experience that can add motivation to their continued development in the pool.
