MANILA, Philippines – Olympian Akiko Thomson’s record in the women’s senior 200m backstroke was finally put to rest after 26 years as Filipino-Australian Georgia Peregrina, 17, recently smashed it , clocking two minutes, 16 seconds and 33 miliseconds to clinch the gold at the NSW Senior State Age Championships in Sydney, Australia, Rappler reported.
The Australia-based swimmer also reset the junior national record in the 16-18 age group previously set by Chloe Kennedy Anne Isleta (2:17.19) in 2015, according to the Rappler report.
Lani Velasco, president of the Philippine Swimming Inc (PSI) has confirmed to the independent news portal that Peregrina has registered with the national swimming federation, which also validates her time as a Philippine record.
The 26-year-old mark (2:16.44) set by Thomson in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain was the last of her Philippine records that was broken, said the Rappler report.
Peregrina’s father is from Marikina, while her mother is Australian.
The Filipino-Australian is qualified to vie for a slot in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games to be hosted in New Clark City. (Photo from Georgia Peregrina’s FB)
