Olympic medalist Sanchez has switched loyalty to swimming from Canada to the Philippines

Toronto — Canada’s Relay Olympic medalist, Swimmer Kayla Sanchez, has switched to a country that represents the Philippines.

The 21-year-old won a silver medal at a 4 x 100 freestyle relay in Tokyo last summer and swam in Canada’s lead-off leg.

She also helped Canada win the bronze medal at the Medley Relay by swimming in the heat.

Sanchez won the Silver and Bronze Freestyle Relays at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary last month.

Swimming Canada gave Sanchez her liberation after the World Championships.

“I’m always really proud of my Filipino heritage,” Sanchez said Thursday in a statement from the Canadian Swimming Federation.

“Apart from how much I grew up in Canada and everything went well, I and my family had to make this very difficult decision to represent the Philippines on this occasion. Like me. I want to inspire people to swim and participate in sports. “

Sanchez was born to Filipino parents in Singapore but grew up in Toronto.

She began training at a high performance center in Ontario in 2016. She has been a member of the Canadian team since 2017.

“Keira is a great Canadian team member, center member and swimmer and we will miss her,” said John Atkinson, High Performance Director and National Coach of Swimming Canada, in a statement.

“She brought such positive energy and great swimming to our team. Our losses are in the interests of the Philippines, but she hopes she will follow for personal and family reasons. We support her in this transition because we are in the direction of being. We sincerely hope that she will be the best swimmer of the future. “

Sanchez said he was grateful for everything Canada did for his swimming career.

“I wouldn’t be an athlete today without support and how much I grew up and learned,” she said.

“The time has come for change in our lives. I want to step into new points in my swimming career, focus on myself and at the same time help the Filipinos.”

Canada’s strong women’s relay team will miss Sanchez, Taylor Ruck and Penny Olexiac for the Commonwealth Games on July 29 in Birmingham, England.