 |
| Ernie Gawilan flashes his silver medal along with 200-meter IM SM7 champ Zhang Yilong and bronze medalist Niranjan Mukundan. PSC-PPC Media Pool |
NAGOYA—Veteran para swimmer Ernie Gawilan added a silver medal to his golden campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games, finishing second in the men’s 200-meter individual medley SM7 final on Tuesday.
Gawilan clocked two minutes and 52.72 seconds to secure his second podium finish in as many days, following his victory in the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7 that delivered the Philippines’ first gold medal of the Games.
China’s Zhang Yilong ruled the medley final in an Asian-record 2:37.69, while India’s Niranjan Mukundan claimed bronze in 2:57.01.
The Filipino finished 4.29 seconds ahead of Mukundan but could not match Zhang’s record-setting pace.
The result reversed their positions in Monday’s 400-meter freestyle final, where Gawilan took gold in 4:56.72, and Zhang settled for silver in 5:01.36.
Gawilan’s latest podium finish sustained the Philippine swimming team’s medal drive on a day when Ariel Joseph Alegarbes also struck gold in the men’s 100-meter backstroke S14.
Alegarbes won in 1:01.56, edging South Korea’s Sungho Kang by just five hundredths of a second to deliver the country’s second gold medal.
With a gold and a silver, Gawilan remains a leading contributor to the Philippine campaign as the delegation pursues more medals against Asia’s top para athletes.
