00:00Teammates, ngayon naman, makakakwentuhan natin dito sa studio ang Speed Skaters na si Sandry Viande-Gimba,
00:12Renee Caitlin Lee Benitez, Ethel May Jewel-Sugitan, at Shailin Adrian Bolos na nagbandera ng bansa sa 33rd South East Asian Games sa Thailand.
00:21At sa katatapos lang na si Trophy Manila 2026 na ginanap dito sa Manila.
00:26Good morning to you.
00:27Good morning girls.
00:29Good morning.
00:31Now before we dive into your South East Asian Games experience, let's get to know all of you more.
00:39Caitlin, before Kamag Speed Skating, you were part of the National Hockey Team.
00:44Why the transition? Why switch from hockey to speed skating?
00:49Oh, so I actually transitioned to speed skating when there was a recruitment happening for speed skating
00:56because there really is a lack of female skaters in short track.
01:00So I thought I'd give it a try when they were looking for skaters and I tried it out and then I realized that I wanted to keep going with the training.
01:11But, you know, my shift to short track wasn't a last minute decision.
01:16It was more, there was still a transition because there was a point where I was doing both at the same time.
01:23Because I was finishing up a hockey league as well, but I started training more in short track and I gained momentum from there until, you know, I started competing in competitions and eventually the Southeast Asian Games.
01:38Now for Saab, you used to be a figure skater.
01:43Was it hard to transition from a sport that is artistic and more graceful to a sport like speed skating, which is quite fast and chaotic?
01:53So, yeah, I think there was a bigger adjustment from figure to short track than I originally expected.
02:13But figure did help me to develop the balance on ice already.
02:19Now for Ethel, you came from an inline skating background.
02:26Was it hard for you to transition?
02:29Not really.
02:31It was basically the same because I started with figure skating too, sorry, and hockey.
02:38And then just during pandemic, I switched to inline because the rink was closed during pandemic.
02:44And when I came back, I transitioned to short track and it was pretty easy for me.
02:53Now for Sandry, this is not your first Southeast Asian Games experience.
02:58You competed last 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
03:01How will you compare the 2019 Southeast Asian Games to this year's edition at the same time?
03:08Is the preparation challenging for you, most especially your base in the U.S.?
03:14For me, it was definitely challenging this time around because last time when I competed in 2019, I did more online classes since my high school allowed me to.
03:26And so it was a little bit different.
03:28I didn't see my friends that much during 2019.
03:31And it was mostly me and my mom when I would train back in South Korea.
03:37Now my preparation for this edition of SEA Games was a little bit different because I was taking full-time classes.
03:45I was working as a tutor at the same time.
03:48And I also did some summer training back in Korea.
03:51So it was a little bit more hectic.
03:53But with me competing in 2019, I guess that brought down the nerves down and made me feel more ready for 2025's edition of SEA Games.
04:04Now you are a newly formed speed skater, all Filipino team, all women team.
04:12What was the most challenging part about this newly formed team?
04:17I would say the most challenging part of it was with me studying the United States.
04:26I wasn't able to come together or train with these girls as much up until like about a week or less than a week before SEA Games.
04:37But we did pull through eventually because I really wanted to get this medal and I imagine so did these other girls.
04:43And so we pulled through, we communicated as much as possible, we adjusted to our coaches, line-up changes for the relay.
04:52And yeah, I think it worked out pretty well in our favor.
04:57Now to Sandy, you clinched two silver medals.
05:00How does it feel to win and what was the most challenging part in your game?
05:05This is for the SEA Trophy Manila.
05:07Oh, this is for SEA Trophy Manila.
05:10Since I only went back to skating around June of last year and like I trained a week before with these with my teammates,
05:21I was pretty surprised because I wasn't on ice as frequently for about four or five years.
05:28So I'm pretty happy with my performance and I feel inspired to continue skating again because honestly,
05:35I thought this was going to be my last one after SEA Games.
05:39So yeah, I feel like I want to skate again.
05:42I feel reinvigorated.
05:44I will just go back to the Southeast Asian experience.
05:48For Caitlin, how was the Southeast Asian Games experience for you?
05:52Most especially, you clinched the bronze medal.
05:54I feel very honored and privileged to have competed in the Southeast Asian Games because, you know,
06:02I'm one of the newer athletes in this sport and getting to compete there is like such a surreal experience
06:09and getting a bronze medal was even a more amazing experience.
06:13So it really made, you know, all the hard work and sacrifices that I've poured into the sport for the past like 10 months.
06:22So worth it.
06:23And, you know, I'm like equally as proud, you know, with my teammates because we really pushed each other, you know, to be our best.
06:32And, you know, I'm just very happy to be where I am right now.
06:36For SAB, you are a SEA Games first-timer.
06:41How was the experience for you?
06:45For me, it was also, of course, it was an honor to compete in an event as big as this.
06:51It was definitely an experience and, yeah, it was definitely an experience and, yeah, such an honor.
07:00And how did you prepare for this?
07:06For our women's relay, we prepared by, of course, like a lot of training hours and a lot of practices.
07:14We really focused on building the chemistry as a team because that did really help with our relay.
07:21For FL, what is the most exciting experience for you in the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games?
07:31For me, the most exciting part about all this is to represent my country.
07:37I really did not expect that from the beginning.
07:41At first, it was just, okay, like, I'm going to compete outside.
07:46Outside, I'm going to represent.
07:48But when I got there, it felt different.
07:51I felt like I had a whole responsibility.
07:54So when I was skating, I just felt like I need to do this and come home and for people to think that,
08:05wow, like, it must be really nice to be a Filipino from watching me.
08:11Now, after the Southeast Asian Games, you competed at the Sea Trophy, Manila.
08:17According to JC, yesterday we were able to talk to them.
08:21Eight countries competed in this competition.
08:24How was the experience for you?
08:25Did you have a hard time in this competition, Sandri?
08:33Who is this question directed to?
08:35How was the experience at the Sea Trophy, Manila, competing with eight countries?
08:39Skating with a bunch of international skaters, at least for our group, we skated with two other girls from India.
08:47It was nice to be able to see these much countries with all of us being tropical.
08:53We don't naturally have snow or lakes turning into ice.
08:59So it was pretty nice to see them come together in Mall of Asia and compete with us.
09:07Considering how hard it is to get ice time, I can see, like, everyone's hard work, all their efforts in training.
09:15And this goes not just for the Philippine team, but also the others that participated as well.
09:20So anyone can answer.
09:23I want to know, how do you balance your studies or your schools with ice sports or with your sports?
09:29I won't lie.
09:34It was kind of hard because I did mention earlier, I was taking, I was actually taking more classes than I should have, to be honest.
09:41But a lot of it kind of came down to the support of my professors.
09:46I'm an exercise science major, so a lot of my professors tend to lean more athletic.
09:50And so they do get it, if it makes sense, that, you know, this is a huge deal for me to compete and everything.
09:58So through, like, a lot of communication with them and being able to say, like, okay, I'll catch up or, like, I'll make up for these assignments
10:07or I'll do these alternative assignments in order to train for C Games and in order to, actually, I had to, like, leave school a week early
10:18just so I can train with them.
10:20So I'm pretty happy that they were willing to adjust to my schedule and I just made a work with them through time management.
10:30So with that said, do you have any upcoming games or preparing for something?
10:36Please invite our viewers.
10:39Sam.
10:42So right now, I think that we are kind of in the off-season, so, like, we're in the training season.
10:48But we're looking forward to the Asian, is that Asian Open?
10:53Asian Open.
10:53Yeah, Asian Open Trophy in around August.
10:57Yeah.
10:57Yeah, in India, at around August.
11:03Caitlin.
11:07Invite our viewers to try speed skating or if you have any shoutouts or you want to greet anybody, please do so.
11:15Oh, I would just like to say to anyone who would like to try a short track, you know, it is a winter sport, so it would definitely be great for the growth of our sport to, like, have newer skaters and for people to try it out.
11:35And we just want to thank, you know, the Philippines Skating Union President, Nikki Cheng, for, you know, supporting us throughout this journey and our coach, Kevin Villanueva, for really pushing us to our limits to be able to get to where we are today.
11:49So, thank you.
11:51On that note, maraming maraming salamat sa Philippine Women's Speed Skating Team.
11:56And congratulations sa inyong bronze medal finish sa katatapos labang, the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
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