Kayla Sanchez denied Asian Games medal anew, takes 4th in 50m freestyle

BEST BET. Swimmer Kayla Sanchez in action for the Philippines in the 2026 Asian Games.

PSC-POC Media Pool

Kayla Sanchez falls short of ending the Philippines’ 28-year wait for an Asian Games swimming medal, finishing fourth in the women’s 50m freestyle final

MANILA, Philippines – An Asian Games medal remained elusive for Kayla Sanchez.

Sanchez once again fell short of a podium finish as she placed fourth in the women’s 50m freestyle final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan on Thursday, September 24.

Logging 24.75 seconds, Sanchez narrowly missed the bronze medal by a 0.29 seconds, with China’s Cheng Yujie beating the Filipina for it with a time of 24.46 seconds.

China completed a 1-3 finish as Wu Qingfeng struck gold with a new Asian Games record of 23.98 seconds, preventing Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey from capturing a third freestyle title in this edition of the continental showpiece.

Haughey, who ruled the 100m and 200m events, settled for silver with 24.32 seconds.

The result denied Sanchez from becoming the first Filipino to win a swimming medal in the Asian Games since Raymond Papa bagged bronzes in the men’s 100m and 200m backstroke in the 1998 edition in Thailand.

It was a disappointing outcome for the Filipina-Canadian, considering that she skipped the women’s 100m backstroke on Wednesday, September 23, to preserve her energy for the 50m freestyle.

Sanchez also came oh so close to a medal in the women’s 100m freestyle, where she ended up fourth as well on Tuesday, September 22.

An Olympic silver and bronze medalist back when she still represented Canada, Sanchez led the Philippines’ campaign in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, where she emerged as the most bemedalled Filipino athlete with three golds and five silvers. – Rappler.com