Kayla Sanchez
Personal information
Full nameKayla Noelle Sanchez
National team Canada (2017–22)
 Philippines (since 2023)
Born (2001-04-07) 7 April 2001 (age 22)
Singapore
Height165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, individual medley
ClubEnergy Standard
High Performance Centre - Ontario, Ajax Aquatic Club[1]
CoachBen Titley
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing  Canada
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 1
World Championships (LC) 0 2 4
World Championships (SC) 3 1 0
Total 3 4 5
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m medley
World Championships (LC)
Silver medal – second place 2022 Budapest 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2022 Budapest 4×100 m mixed freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Gwangju 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Budapest 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Budapest 4×100 m medley
World Championships (SC)
Gold medal – first place 2021 Abu Dhabi 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2021 Abu Dhabi 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2021 Abu Dhabi 4×50 m mixed freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2021 Abu Dhabi 4×100 m medley
Pan Pacific Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Tokyo 4×200 m freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast 4×200 m freestyle
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Indianapolis 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2017 Indianapolis 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2017 Indianapolis 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2017 Indianapolis 200 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Indianapolis 100 m freestyle
Junior Pan Pacific Championships
Silver medal – second place 2016 Maui 4×100 m freestyle

Kayla Noelle Sanchez (born 7 April 2001) is a Filipino-Canadian swimmer. A member of the Canadian national team until 2022, she has represented Canada at the Olympic and World championship level, and is a two-time Olympic medalist. She is one of Canada's most prominent Filipino Canadian athletes.[2]

Early life

Kayla Sanchez was born on 7 April 2001 in Singapore.[3] She was born to Filipino parents who were Overseas Filipino Workers; her father is a native of Mabalacat, Pampanga while her mother traces her roots to Baguio. Her family eventually emigrated to Canada.[4][5]

Career

2017 season

Sanchez made her debut in major international competition in 2017, as part of the Canadian team for the 2017 World Junior Swimming Championships team in Indianapolis. She won two individual medals, a silver in the 200 m individual medley and bronze in the 100 m freestyle, and was part of a Canadian sweep of the gold medals in the women's relay events, taking gold in the 4x100 m and 4x200 freestyle as well as in the 4x100 medley. In the process the team broke the junior world record and championship record.[6]

Later that year she also competed at her senior championships, the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. Sanchez was part of the Canadian team in the women's 4×100 m freestyle relay event, finishing fourth overall.[7][8][9]

2018 season

In September 2017, Sanchez was named to Canada's 2018 Commonwealth Games team.[10][11] Individually, she finished sixth in the 50 m freestyle, seventh in the 100 m freestyle, and ninth in the heats of the 200 m medley. She won two silver medals as part of the Canadian relay teams in the 4x100 m and 4x200 m.[12]

2019 season

In the Autumn of 2019, Sanchez was member of the inaugural International Swimming League swimming for the Energy Standard International Swim Club, who won the team title in Las Vegas, Nevada, in December.[13] At the London match in November she won the 200m Freestyle over teammate Femke Heemskerk in a time of 1:52.72.[14] Competing as part of the Canadian team for the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, she won bronze medals in the 4x100 m and 4x200 m freestyle relays.[12]

2020 Summer Olympics

In 2021, Sanchez was part of the Canadian team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[15] She won a silver medal as part of the Canadian team in the 4x100 m freestyle relay, alongside Maggie Mac Neil, Rebecca Smith, and Penny Oleksiak.[16] She also swam the freestyle leg in the heats of the 4x100 m medley relay, helping the Canadian team finish the heats in first place, and earned a bronze medal when the finals team finished third (having been replaced in the final by Oleksiak).[17]

Sanchez competed individually in the heats of the 100 m freestyle, setting a new personal best and qualifying through to the semi-finals, but withdrew to conserve energy for the 4x200 m freestyle relay, where the Canadian team ultimately finished fourth.[18]

2021 season

Sanchez announced plans to study political science at the University of British Columbia beginning in January 2022, following the completion of the ISL's third season. As part of her studies she would compete as part of UBC's Thunderbirds swimming team.[12][19]

The season concluded at the 2021 World Swimming Championships, where Sanchez won four medals (three gold and one silver) as part of Canadian relay teams.

2022 season

At the Canadian swimming trials for upcoming championship events, Sanchez was fourth in the 200 m freestyle, before unexpectedly winning the 100 m event, finishing 0.02 ahead of Penny Oleksiak.[20] She concluded the event with a decisive win in the 50 m freestyle.[21]

Beginning the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in the 4x100 m freestyle relay, Sanchez was part of Canada's silver medal-winning team, a first for Canadian women at the World Championships.[22] She won her second medal of the championships in the 4×200 m freestyle relay, where the Canadian team finished third.[23] On the same day, Sanchez placed sixth in the semi-finals of the 100 m freestyle, qualifying to her first individual Worlds final.[24] Sanchez qualified to the semi-finals of the 50 m freestyle, but scratched from the semi-finals in order to conserve energy for the 4×100 m mixed freestyle relay final in the same session. She recorded a personal best relay split time of 52.52 as part of the Canadian team's silver medal win.[25] Sanchez then competed the freestyle leg for Team Canada in the heats of the 4×100 m medley relay, helping the team qualify to the final in fourth position. She was replaced in the final by Oleksiak, but shared in the team's bronze medal win. She, Oleksiak and Summer McIntosh jointly set a record at the championships for most medals by a Canadian swimmer at a single edition, with four each.[26]

In July 2022, Philippine Swimming announced that Sanchez would start representing the Philippines[4]

2023 season

World Aquatics would approve Sanchez's sporting nationality change, enabling her to compete for the Philippines from 6 July 2023 onwards.[27] Her competitive debut as a swimmer for the Philippines occurred at the 2022 Asian Games.[27][28][29]

By late 2023, the International Olympic Committee waived her residency requirement for her nationality change, making her eligible to qualify for the Philippines in the 2024 Summer Olympics.[30]

Personal bests

Long course (50 m pool)

Event Time[31] Venue Date Notes
50 m freestyle 24.94 Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center 12 August 2018
100 m freestyle 53.12 Tokyo Aquatics Centre 28 July 2021
200 m freestyle 1:57.23 Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center 9 August 2018

References

  1. ^ "Canada's Kayla Sanchez Breaks World Record in 50 Free". SwimSwam.com. 6 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Filipino-Canadians find role model in Toronto-based Olympic medallist Sanchez". The Sports Network (TSN). 5 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Kayla Sanchez". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b Valderrama, Aeron Paul (7 July 2022). "Kayla Sanchez makes the switch from Canada to Philippines". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  5. ^ Ramos, Gerry (7 July 2022). "Tokyo medalist Kayla Sanchez switches allegiance from Canada to Philippines". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Penny Oleksiak, Canada win relay gold at world junior swimming championships". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Heats results". FINA. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  8. ^ "2017 World Aquatics Championships > Search via Athletes". Budapest 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Kayla Sanchez". Swimming Canada. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Swimming Canada Nominates 26 Athletes to Canada's 2018 Commonwealth Games Team". Swimming Canada. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Oleksiak, Masse headline Canadian swim team for Commonwealth Games". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). 26 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  12. ^ a b c Dornan, Ben (3 April 2021). "Canadian Record Holder Kayla Sanchez Announces Plans to Swim at UBC". www.swimswam.com/. SwimSwam. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Club Rosters – International Swimming League". Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  14. ^ "ISL London Day 1 Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Kayla Sanchez - Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website". olympic.ca.
  16. ^ "Penny Oleksiak powers Canadian women to 1st medal of Tokyo Olympics". CBC Sports. 24 July 2021.
  17. ^ Devin Heroux (31 July 2021). "Oleksiak earns historic medal No. 7 as Canadian women win bronze in 4x100m medley relay". CBC Sports.
  18. ^ Keith, Braden (28 July 2021). "Kayla Sanchez scratches 100 free; American Erika Brown into semis". www.swimswam.com/. SwimSwam. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  19. ^ Stu Walters (8 April 2021). "Canadian record holder Kayla Sanchez commits to T-Birds swimming". gothunderbirds.ca.
  20. ^ Li, Yanyan (9 April 2022). "Canadian Roster Update: Sanchez and Cieplucha make Worlds team with 1 day left". SwimSwam.
  21. ^ Penland, Spencer (10 April 2022). "2022 Canadian Trials: Day 6 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam.
  22. ^ Steiner, Ben (18 June 2022). "Canada's Summer McIntosh, 15, swims to silver at world aquatics championships in Budapest". CBC Sports.
  23. ^ "Teen swimming sensation Summer McIntosh leads Canadian medal haul with world title, relay bronze". CBC Sports. 22 June 2022.
  24. ^ "McIntosh and Masse win gold to highlight historic night at Worlds". Swimming Canada. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Two more medals make for Canada's best ever Worlds". Swimming Canada. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  26. ^ "Summer McIntosh wins record second gold, fourth medal as Canada completes best-ever performance". Swimming Canada. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  27. ^ a b "World Aquatics approves move of Kayla Sanchez to represent the Philippines". GMA News. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  28. ^ "Kayla Sanchez sets sights on Asian Games in Hangzhou". ABS-CBN. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  29. ^ Navarro, June (28 September 2023). "Asian Games: Kayla Sanchez ends individual campaign without medal". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  30. ^ Navarro, June (3 December 2023). "IOC waives residency, giving Kayla Sanchez green light to chase Paris medal". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  31. ^ "Kayla Sanchez". SwimSwam. Retrieved 11 August 2021.

External links

World short-course champions in women's 4×100 m freestyle relay
World short-course champions in mixed 4×50 m freestyle relay
Categories