Nicholas Ivan Radovan is a 17 years old swimmer who’s part of the Philippine Killerwhale team and also a part of the BEST elite program. But, before becoming a Killer Whale, Ivan was first part of another team and even experienced competing against our team in different swim meets.

Ivan, together with his older brother, are originally from Lucban, and at some point have decided to come to Lucena City to further improve their swimming skills, and to officially become a part of the Killerwhale team.

Whilst we were having the interview with Ivan, we discovered that his “kuya” is his biggest inspiration in life. He expressed his admiration towards his brother because of the hard work and perseverance that he has in life.

They left their hometown at an early age to achieve their goals in swimming. During his elementary days, he experienced to be a city distant away from his parents. When we asked if he ever felt homesick, he said;

“Hindi naman ako na homesick kasi simula grade 3 palang ako nag STCAA na ako kaya bata palang ako nasanay na ako na kahit  di ko kasama ang pamilya ko, kinakaya ko mag isa.”

STCAA, now called RSC, is a government sanctioned regional games where all athletes gets to experience a live-in training setup. They will be away from school, family, and outside activities to focus more on their training.

In his 7 years in swimming, he shared the thing that keeps him motivated to push through and that is to playing in SEA Games one day.

Journeying toward his goal, Ivan named the 3 most memorable competitions he participated in;

He said that his competitions in Japan last 2018 was so memorable because it was his first time competing internationally. Surely, the very first international competition of a swimmer would always be at the top of the list.

2nd was the competition in France of our Elite swimmers recently this year, because he said that competing in Europe is a whole different experience. We can’t agree more!

And the 3rd was the Palarong Pambansa qualifying. With his years spent in swimming, he always wanted to experience Palarong Pambansa, and now he dominated the competition last June 5-7, 2022 and bagged 2 gold and 2 bronze medals.

When Ivan first came into the team, he was just a really young kid with the dream of being a good swimmer one day. If you look at him now, he’s now slowly starting to achieve this. In fact, he’s now one of the generals in the team who surely dominates every competition he participates in.

Ivan’s hard work is starting to pay off. His hard work and perseverance led him to being recognized by his hometown. Recently, he was awarded as the “Natatanging anak ng Lucban 2022” for bringing continuous recognition as an athlete to his hometown. Something that definitely to be proud of.

Ivan said that whenever he swims, he thinks of nothing and just give it and swim his best.

“Nalangoy lang ako. Sini-swim ko yung best ko”

Also, one of his teammate asked him what he likes more; To have a best time, or to have a medal? His response,

“Para sakin syempre mag best time. Para saan pa yung hardwork na ginawa mo sa training kung wala kang improvement? Bonus na sa akin yung magka medal. Ang mahalaga ay mag best time para malaman mo kung nag improve ka o hindi.”

On his road to improvement, it is only natural to experience bad swims. During the interview, he expressed his thoughts on this subject.

“Ang masabi ko (kasi) na bad swim ay pinagtuunan ko yung training, yung araw araw ako nag training, tapos (as a result) tumaas yung time ko. (Kapag nangyayari yun) mas nag focus ako sa training.”

He doesn’t let bad swim days get to him easily because he knows that it is part of the process to succeed. He always tries to figure out what seems to be going wrong and fix it.

Aside from his swimming career, Ivan is now in Senior High School, and studying at University of Santo Tomas as a varsity player.

It is no secret that juggling school and swimming together is hard. When asked how he handles both responsibilities he said;

“Nahihirapan ako minsan ihandle ang schoolworks. Minsan natutulog na ako ng madaling araw kasi ayoko parin bumagsak. Kahit pagod sa training gagawin ko pa din yung mga school works and projects ko.”

At a young age Ivan learned how to manage his time efficiently and makes sure that he’s doing what he needs to accomplish his priorities.

Being a student-athlete has never been an issue for him because he really loves what he is doing.

Now, we asked the question in which we ask everyone who undergoes this interview; what is swimming for you? He cheerfully stated,

“Swimming is life! Swimming is life kasi buong pagkatao ko (ay about sa swimming) simula bata pa. Kung walang swimming, wala normal na tao lang ako.“

He finds himself as someone special in swimming because he is contributing to give pride to our country through this sport.

Before the end of the interview he left an inspiring message for our younger swimmers;

“Pag sa competition di kayo nag medal wag nyo isipin na mahina kayo. Ang importante nag iimprove kayo, nag b-best time. Hayaan nyo yung ibang swimmers na sinasabing ang hina nyo, basta tuloy lang kayo sa training nyo tsaka mag focus.“

Swimming is now a big part of Ivan’s life. He started with the team as a cute little kid but now he’s one of the greatest butterflyer that the team have.

Because of his consistency and his positive mindset, he is now getting closer to his dreams.

Congratulations Ivan on all your accomplishments in swimming! Keep grinding and be humble no matter what happens. The Killer Whale family believes you can reach your goals! We’ll be here cheering for you and supporting you all the way.

Our swimmer of the week is one of the Philippine Killer Whale generals who we can get some inspiration from especially on how he successfully showed how to juggle school and athlete life.

Lance Lotino, a Philippine Killer Whale swimmer since he was 12, and now in his collegiate years, has first started because his dad wants him to be engaged in sports. As he truly enjoyed the sport so much, he never stopped then on.

When asked what inspired him to continue and pursue swimming, he said that the number one reason is the team because he enjoys being with his teammate so much that he treats the team as his family.

“Kung wala kayo (team mates) siguro hindi din ako mag tatagal. Kasi dahil din sa inyo kaya nag t-training ako.”

“And ito na din yung dream ko. Dito ko nasusukat ang sarili ko na makakuha ng best time at makapasok sa malalaking laro dito sa pilipinas.”

After every training, you will always see Lance practicing his strokes and correcting his movements that he thinks he can improve. He will always be the one to leave the pool last. That kind of dedication and will is something that you and I will admire from him since we know that this attitude that he has is not just something you will see in the pool but also in his own personal life.

“I am motivated to train everyday para maimprove ang sarili ko. Masaya kasi magtraining, masaya mahirapan. Pag kasi di ako nag t-training, syempre di ka pagod, nahihirapan ako matulog. Kaya yung napapagod ka sa training, masarap sa pakiramdam talaga.“

Outside of his athlete life, Lance is also a part of the student-council in his school. We already know how things can get busy being a student, but taking in more responsibilities of being part of the student-council can get crazy. When asked how he balances academics, student-council responsibilities and swimming, he said,

“Discipline yourself lang. You’ll be able to manage your time pag nadiscipline mo yung sarili mo. One problem at a time lang. Ganun yung ginagawa ko. Inuuna ko muna yung mga importante.“

During the interview, Lance told us what he feels about having swimming as his chosen sport.

“Nakakaboost din ng confidence kasi andun ako sa healthy lifestyle. Imbis na nasa social life ako, andito ako sa training, and madami kang namiss na kung ano-ano pero dito ako masaya dito ka nabubuhay. Kung masaya ka sa ginagawa mo, ayun, ipagpatuloy mo lang.“

His love for swimming made him accomplish a lot of things. One of which is; he was scouted by the University of Santo Tomas, one of the well-known schools here in the country.

He said that he’s really happy about it because before he graduates college, his goal is to play in the UAAP and SEA Games.

Lance also shared that one of the biggest competition he competed in was the Philippine National Open series in Clark. Here, he had the chance to compete against the swimmers who represented the Philippines in SEA Games. Since SEA Games is also his dream, he felt that competing alongside the SEA Games swimmers was a huge honor and opportunity to improve himself.

Lance has also been representing the Philippines in a lot of International competitions. Recently he competed in Europe along with his buddies, Jordan Lobos and Marcus De Kam.

But out of all the international competition he joined in, he said that his first international meet last 2016 in Singapore was the most memorable one.

It was only a year since he started swimming when he competed in Singapore. Despite the lack of experience then, he truly enjoyed it because almost everyone in the team joined too. While reminiscing the trip and the event, he described it as “sobrang saya”.

At the end of every interview, we ask everyone the same question, “What is swimming for you“. On this question, he paused and thought about it for a long time because he saw from the past interviews, that they all answered the same. But he also can’t think of any other way to answer but to say that “swimming is life”. This is probably because, on day to day, a swimmer spends so much of their time with it and the next thing they know, it’s already embedded in their system that it already becomes a big part of their life.

“Swimming is life talaga. Wala ka naman kasi ibang maisasagot e. Kasi yun talaga e, swimming is life.” He said while laughing.

During his years in swimming, his love for the sport has never changed comparing to the time he first started. His father’s persuasion during the start became love, the love became passion, and now his life.

At the very end of the interview he took the time to thank everyone who supported and supports him and also gave a message to all the aspiring swimmers.

“Thank you palagi sa suporta. (Family, Coach, and teammates). Best time man o hindi, may medal man o wala, (ayos lang). Sa swimming kasi madami ka talaga matututunan. Matalo, manalo, maayos man o bad swim man may matutuunan ka talaga.”

Lance’s journey is truly an inspiring one because it goes to show that with hard work, perseverance and dedication, you’ll be able to achieve anything. This is true not just in swimming but also in our day to day lives.

Thank you for sharing your story Lance! The Killerwhale family will be here to witness your journey and the success that your hard work will bring.

Bela Louise Magtibay is a 20 years old veteran swimmer of Philippine Killer Whale. She has been a Killer Whale ever since she was 4 years old and now safe to be called the “Ate” of the team.

Bela is currently a Student-Athlete and juggling both sports and studies at the same time takes a toll on her. When asked about it and how she handles this, she said that swimming is her escape from the stress and pressure in life as she feels the freedom when she’s in the water.

In an exclusive interview she was asked why she still choose to continue swimming,

“Sa sobrang tagal ko na sa swimming, nakasanayan ko na sya at malaking part na sya ng buhay ko. There are times na I question myself kung bakit nag s-swim pa ako pero bumabalik pa din talaga ako kasi sobrang nag e-enjoy talaga ako.”

We asked Bela what drives her to swim and the response we got was, her motivation to show up in training everyday is her family. She wants to give her family a good future and give them a stable life. She finds swimming as way to find those opportunities and achieve that dream.

Ever since she started her swimming career, there were a few people who helped her to continue in this expensive sport. A hardship that she experienced and shared was what she had during the pandemic. Those people who were helping her also experienced financial struggles which then affected her since she had to find other means to continue. She also saw the same happened to her family where they themselves experienced the struggle. Despite it, she’s been very grateful to those people and her family who continues to support her to push through with the sport that she loves.

“Medjo nagiging mabigat ang finances para sa swimming career ko.” She jokingly said “Kung may mga extra kayong kahit 50 dyan tumatanggap po ako.”

With the help of swimming, she got the opportunity to study at the top school and university in the Philippines since she was lucky to be offered and given a scholarship in these schools.

Apart from her family, God is also one of her motivations. “Binigyan nya ako ng talent mag swimming eh, kaya kailangan natin gamitin itong gift na to.”

Her proudest achievement in swimming was during the Palarong Pambansa 2017 in Antique when she broke the 200M Breaststroke record.                                           

At that time kasi nung pinanood ko yung video, napakinggan ko si dada and sabi nya “Ah nabreak ni bela yung record” and during that moment naisip ko “Oh my god I made my dada proud!”

Bela, now swimming for 17 years, have been very grateful to this sport since she said that swimming helped her A LOT.

When asked how did swimming helped her in her life and her response;

“Nung elementary ako tinuruan ako ng swimming mag manage ng time. Minsan nag aakit ang mga classmates ko gumala pero I learned how to prioritize what’s important for me.”

“Nung highschool and college naman, nabigyan ako ng scholarship ng La salle and University of the Philippines”

“Swimming also taught me to be disciplined and consistent kaya naman malaki talaga ang naitulong ng swimming sa akin”

She also added that one of the people who taught her so much in her swimming career was Coach Virgi.

“Tiwala, in essence ang natutunan ko kay coach Virgi“. Tiwala sa process and sa sarili.

She wrapped up the interview by saying, “if hindi mo kayang magtiwala sa sarili mo, at least magtiwala ka sa Diyos”

Bela Louise is the life of the party in the team, she makes everyone feel welcomed and makes the training more fun! You will find her as the bubbliest “Ate” of the team. But during this interview, we definitely saw a new side of her.

Let’s all continue to show our support and cheer for Bela in this journey she’s taking. As with everyone, we want to assure her that The Philippine Killerwhale Team will always be right by her.

Watch the full video interview here and also follow her journey on her pages:

• Facebook
• Instagram

Jordan Lobos is a Junior Philippine record holder in the 200M breaststroke. At just 17 years old which was last year, he replaced the breaststroke record which is 2:22.23  record of Gerard Bordado (18 years old) in the 16-18 men’s 200M Breaststroke.

Jordan is also a Philippine TYR brand ambassador and one of the rising swimmers that brings honor to The Philippine Killer Whale Swimming Team and to our country.

But before all the gleams and glamour, there have been many obstacles Jordan faced during his 11 years in swimming.

One of the most difficult things he faced was his rare condition where he developed rashes and body lumps that caused him to itch in his whole body during every competition. He said that it occurs every time he is nervous. In his first few competitions he competed in, that condition became a hindrance to his races.

Through time, after many attempts of healing it, it was cured by consistently building his self-confidence, belief in himself and realization that there is nothing to fear because he knew that he gives his 100% best every training.

In an interview, he was asked; “Pano mo nalalabanan yung kaba tuwing laban?”

He answered “Iniisip ko na i-enjoy lang yung laban. Dapat kasi pag lalaban ka masaya ka na lalangoy, pero at the same time iniisip mo din yung mga kailangan mo gawin. Kapag kasi naging balance yung dalwang yun, makakalangoy ka ng walang pressure”

Jordan has a ritual every time he steps on the diving board during competitions;

He stated that, it is his way of hyping himself. The clap means “Let’s do this!” and the pointing of the finger to the sky means “this swim is for you God.”

Things you need to know about Jordan

• His life as a swimmer

Jordan is the fastest breaststroker in the team. His times in his events are;

50M – 30.32, 100M – 1:04.64, 200M – 2:21.20

Jordan have been a Killer Whale ever since he started his swimming career. He’s now swimming more than half his life, but despite the longevity, he never thought of quitting because of the love and passion that he has in this sport.

Because of swimming, he’s already been to many places nationally and internationally. The most recent where he’s been to is Paris and Switzerland. Competing within and outside the Philippines is what competitive swimmers are aiming for to showcase their talents globally. And this is what Jordan have done through the years.

He was offered and received a scholarship from his school and helped his parents by having a full scholarship. Jordan was definitely proud of this achievement, more so the pride he gave to his parents.

• Jordan as a Team Captain

Jordan was appointed as a team captain and been so for 4 years now. Many of his teammates said he’s one of the most reliable and responsible captain. His love for swimming radiates to the team which helps The Killerwhale team push themselves to strive for greatness. Leading by example indeed.

• Jordan holding off swimming for the next 2 years

As a member of the Church Of Jesus Christ Of latter day saints, he has a duty to serve on a mission for 2 years after he graduated from Senior Highschool. He will spend the next 2 years to fully dedicate his time to the Lord.

In an interview he was asked “What is your plan after 2 years?”

His response was, after 2 years, he will surely return to swimming because he has not achieved his ultimate dream of becoming an official member of the Philippine Team.

• What swimming means to Jordan Lobos

“Swimming is life and family.“

“Life kasi nabigyan ako ng swimming ng magandang buhay. Nakapag aral ako ng hindi nahihirapan ang pamilya ko, napunta ako sa way na nakita ko ang purpose ko at nagkaroon ako ng goal which is yun nga maging official na philippine team swimmer”.

“Family kasi madami akong nakilalang tao na hanggang ngayon kasama ko sa journey ko”.

As an athlete he said that consistency and enjoyment is one of the most important thing in swimming because without these, it will be very hard to improve.

Jordan, being the captain of the Philippine Killerwhale, has helped a lot of his teammates improve and succeed. And just as he is supporting each and every member of the team, we would like to assure him that the whole Killerwhale team is behind his journey.

The Killerwhale Team is proud of you Jordan and we’ll be waiting for your return and swim right beside you once again!

Full interview of Jordan below.