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| Kayla Sanchez is a new SEA Games record holder. |
BANGKOK—Two-time Olympic medalist Kayla Sanchez secured two silver medals on the second day of the swimming event at the 2025 SEA Games.
Though she set a new meet record in the 50-meter (m) backstroke, she settled for silver in the final, capping the day with a second silver in the 200m freestyle.
Earlier, Sanchez broke Wolf Masniari's 2023 SEA Games record with a time of 28.47 seconds in the heats, but she was ultimately defeated by the defending champion in the final.
Masniari of Indonesia led with 28.80 seconds, while Boonamphai Saovanee of Thailand took bronze with 28.84 seconds.
“We don’t take it as a 'lost gold,' we take it as silver. Kayla has a lot of experience, and still, this is her first time in the SEA Games. Overall, I commend her and she has that professionalism,” Philippines women’s swimming team coach Michal Zbigniew Skrodzk said.
Sanchez earned her second silver medal in the freestyle event with a time of 2:02.9.
She trailed only Gan Ching Hwee of Singapore, who won the gold in 2:00.2. Maria Nedelko (Thailand) finished third, clocking 2:02.71.
On Wednesday, Sanchez led a quartet to a historic gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay, the country’s first-ever medal in the event.
The quartet, which included Heather White, Chloe Isleta, and Xiandi Chua, clocked a winning time of 3:44.26 at the Sports Authority Thailand Aquatic Centre on Wednesday night.
