As a competitive swimmer, most of us if not all, dreams of competing at the highest level there is. Marcus is no exception to this and in fact, he is very bold of this dream which is something you’ll see and feel if you see him train, compete, and speak to him. Let’s get to learn more about Marcus, one of The Philippine Killerwhale’s Generals.
Marcus is a 17 year old swimmer who’s goal is to play in the highest level of competition there is and most especially represent the country in the Olympics.
He is the ACE of the team when it comes to freestyle events and even ALMOST broke the Junior Philippine record of 4:09 in 400M freestyle at the age of 14 with the time of 4:11. And since then, he continuously improved, became stronger and been setting high standards in the different competitions he participated in.
We had the chance to interview Marcus and he got to share a piece of him on what he thinks, feels, and his dreams in swimming.
“The biggest lesson that I learned in swimming is, there are ups and downs sa buhay na kailangan maranasan ng tao para matuto at mas lumakas.”
Working his way to success wasn’t an easy road. When asked if he had any experiences while competing that he regrets, he said there were plenty of times that he did.
“Kahit nananalo ako sa swim ko na sa age group ko, pero pag nakikita ko na may nakatalo sa time ko na mas matanda, feeling ko kulang pa din.“
“Malaki ang epekto nun sa confidence ko pero nasasanay na din ako, and kung ano man, phase lang yun and mag iimprove naman ako pag ganun.”
As a swimmer there are numerous of times where we experience a “bad swim”, and Marcus is not a stranger of this.
“For me normal naman yun. Pwedeng minsan mo lang maranasan, and pwede din palagi, and minsan feeling mo kulang ka sa training pero ginagawa mo naman ang best mo.”
Because of the hectic schedule of a student-athlete, he cannot avoid to skip training sometimes. He said that his absence in training affects his performance in competition a lot.
But instead of having regrets from the bad swims he experienced, he sees it as a motivation to train harder and improve.
“Nag re-reflect ako kung ano yung mga mali kong nagagawa at ano yung pwede ko pa i-improve para hindi madala ang bad performance sa laban.”
He pushes his self forward even if he sometimes feel stuck on a phase because he wants to achieve his dream as an elite swimmer and compete at higher levels.
“I want to achieve those dreams to make everyone proud (including myself), at di masayang lahat ng sakripisyo ng magulang at mga taong tumutulong sakin.”
He finds his motivation to show up in training when he thinks of how it will affect his swim during competitions.
“Probably iniisip ko na nakadepende sa akin kung ano magiging outcome ng laban base sa training ko”.
“And makikita ko naman ang mga kaibigan ko kaya mas ginaganahan ako lumangoy“
Happiest moment ko with the team is during team buildings. Mas nakikilala ko lalo ang team mates ko.
Marcus achieved a lot, and competed in a lot of big scale competitions in his swimming career. One of those is the ASEAN AGE, where he competed in India last 2019.
He became one of the first generals to have a lowest personal record in a short span of time. That is why he is known to be the freestyler of the team. His times in his events were;
50M Freestyle-25, 100M Freestyle- 55, 200M Freestyle, 2:00 flat, 400M Freestyle- 4:20.
He is also one of the swimmers who competed in Paris and had the chance to represent the Philippines in Europe.
There is no doubt that he is one of the highest achiever in the team whom always manages to win medals in every meet he competes in.
As a very hard working athlete who almost lived in the pool, everyone who sees how dedicated he is in swimming would agree that he truly deserves a place in the podium.
Swimming for me is a lifestyle. Kapag hindi ako nakakapag swim, hinahanap hanap ko ito.
Swimming has been a part of his everyday and he feels like a day is not complete when he does not train.
Ever since he joined the team last 2018, Marcus and Coach Virgi have been focused on how they will achieve their Olympic dream together. We have seen Marcus grind and put in the hard work and because of this, we have also seen him succeed.
There may be hardships, and obstacles along the way, but we are proud that Marcus’ dreams doesn’t faze.
Being one of the elite swimmers of the team, Marcus is truly an inspiration and one to look up to. Not only because of the achievements he reached but mostly because of the hard work he puts in, the dedication he exhibits, and the attitude he has towards the sport we all love.
Continue on achieving your dreams Marcus! The Killerwhale family is here to root for you and help you reach your goals! We are all proud of you!
Philippine Killerwhale Swimming Association 