MANILA – Negrense swimmer Carmina Sanchez Tan bagged a gold and silver medal in the 2025 Junior Olympic Championships held at the Arlington ISD Athletics Center and Natatorium in Arlington, Texas.
A native of Talisay City, Negros Occidental, the 17-year-old Tan struck gold in the 15-17 Women’s Team Free event, teaming up with Karen Cho, Tori Jang, and Isabelle Yang to earn a score of 192.2083.
She also took home a silver medal in the 15-17 Women’s Duet Free, partnering with Cho for a score of 183.9200, outperforming 24 other competing pairs.
In the Solo Free event, Tan placed sixth overall among 32 finalists with a final score of 155.9038.
Currently based in California, Tan is a member of the Philippine Artistic Swimming Team and trains with the Meraquas of Irvine, a premier artistic swimming club in Irvine. She is under the guidance of coaches Candy Hipp, Haley Szekely, and Nikki Szekely.
Organized by USA Artistic Swimming, the competition drew nearly 900 athletes from clubs across the United States. Entry to the national event required swimmers to qualify through regional meets, with only the top two advancing per event.
Leading up to the championships, Tan earned gold and silver medals in her qualifying events — including Solo Free, Duet Free, and Team Free — during the Junior Olympic Associations and Junior Olympic Regionals.
In addition to her recent success, Tan also represented Meraquas of Irvine in the Junior and National Artistic Swimming Championships held in Greensboro, North Carolina, and in the West Zone Championship in San Diego, California earlier this year./PN
