After winning two medals with the Canadian Olympic team at Tokyo 2020, Kayla Sanchez had her mind set to get back to the world’s biggest stage.
Winning a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay as well as a medley relay bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, Sanchez made her return to her second Olympics three years later in the women’s 100m freestyle.
But unlike her teammates during those Games, Sanchez wasn’t wearing the maple leaf while competing at Paris 2024.
Back in 2022, Sanchez made the switch to represent the Philippines on the international stage. Growing up in Toronto but born in Singapore to Filipino parents, Sanchez felt it was her calling to make the switch.
“I’ve always been really proud of my Filipino heritage,” Sanchez said in July 2022 in a statement from Swimming Canada. “Aside from how much I’ve grown and how good everything has been in Canada, I needed to make this really difficult decision for myself and my family to take this opportunity to represent the Philippines. I want to help inspire people that are like me to swim and get into the sport.”
Sanchez was officially granted the right to compete for the Philippines at the Olympic Games back in December 2023. Traditionally, athletes need three years off from competing before transitioning to a new country, but the IOC was able to waive the period due to the postponement of Tokyo 2020 to take place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This period may be reduced or even cancelled, with the agreement of the NOCs and IF concerned, by the IOC Executive Board, which takes into account the circumstances of each case,” the IOC’s guidelines explained.
Sanchez set a new national record on Tuesday in the 100m freestyle with a time of 54.21, though she finished 15th out of 16 competitors in the semifinal and did not advance to the final.
Sanchez is an incoming student at the University of British Columbia, with the 23-year-old having originally committed to the Thunderbirds in 2021.
“Thank you for all the support and messages,” Sanchez shared on her Instagram story today. “I appreciate you all so much.”