Kayla’s leap of faith

It’s not often you come across a foreign-born Olympic athlete with Filipino roots switching nationalities from a First World country to represent the Philippines in international competitions.

Diver Vicki Manalo’s father was Filipino chef and musician Teofilo. She was born in San Francisco and won gold medals for the US in 3m springboard and 10m platform at the 1948 London Olympics. A year after striking gold, Manalo visited the Philippines and was hailed as a returning heroine, even received by President Quirino at the Malacanang Palace. But Manalo, whose mother was English, never competed for the Philippines. She was married to her diving coach Lyle Draves and passed away in 2010 at the age of 85.

Volleyball player Liz Masakayan was born in Quezon City to a Filipino father Jose. She settled in Santa Monica, California, with her US-born mother Liz Lazur at the age of five after her parents separated. Masakayan was a star outside hitter at UCLA where she set single-season and career records. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she played on the US indoor team. Masakayan later became a beach volleyball specialist and with partner Elaine Youngs, nearly qualified for the 2000 Olympics. She never considered switching to play for the Philippines.

Figure skater Tai Babilonia was born in Los Angeles to a half-Filipino father Constancio, a detective sergeant with the LA Police Department. She performed with Randy Gardner at the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics for the US. Babilonia never competed for the Philippines.

Kayla Sanchez is a rare exception. She was born in Singapore to OFW parents, Noel of Mabalacat, Pampanga and Susana of Baguio City. The family migrated to Canada when Sanchez was two. She learned how to swim at four and began swimming competitively at eight. Sanchez represented Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, taking a silver in 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in 4x100m medley relay.

In 2023, World Aquatics approved Sanchez’ application to switch nationalities. She wore the Philippine colors at the 2024 Paris Olympics, reaching the 100m freestyle semifinals. She set a national record of 53.67 in the heats. At the recently-concluded SEA Games, Sanchez was the Philippines’ most bemedalled athlete, collecting three gold and five silver medals.

“I’ve always been a proud Filipina,” said the 24-year-old Sanchez in the 2023 Philippines Yearbook edition The Filipino National Identity. “I learned a lot from a great environment in Canada and now that I’ve acquired skills to bring to the Philippines, I’m able to start a new culture to help Filipinos believe they can succeed on the world stage. Many have asked about the pressure of winning medals for the Philippines. I’m used to that kind of pressure. However, now I feel the pressure more in terms of connecting with young Filipino swimmers – to inspire them and make them believe they can swim, be strong and achieve great things doing what they love to do. I put great pressure on myself in that regard.”

From her parents, Sanchez learned to be hard-working. “They were a big part of my decision to move to the Philippines as I want to make my parents proud,” she said. “My parents have always spoken Tagalog with me and I’m grateful for that. Now that I’m competing for the Philippines, I feel like I’m at home and super comfortable. I’m just excited to represent the Philippines – it has always been on my mind.”