Monday, October 09, 2006 5-yr.-old Junio conquers Mactan Channel By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Correspondent
LIKE a scene in the Sinulog fluvial parade, a crowd gathered at the Muelles Osmeña ferryboat landing in Lapu-Lapu City early yesterday morning.
They were not there for the holy child, but to witness an attempt of a five-year-old boy that could possibly place him in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Justin Junio had to overcome the cold waters, the strong current and the sorry state of the murky waters to successfully cross the Mactan Channel. The feat, if approved, will make him the youngest swimmer to cross a channel, expelling the current holder from Arizona, USA.
American Braxton Bildrey, who had crossed Alcatraz to San Francisco last May, is already seven years old. Aside from the age factor, Junio also surpassed the distance that Bildrey covered.
Bildrey swam the Alcatraz-San Francisco channel that spans 2.25 kilometers.
For the Filipinos
Junio on the other hand, who was supposed to swim three kilometers, doubled the distance to approximately six kilometers after the rerouting due to strong current.
“Para sa mga Pilipino ang accomplishment na ito,” said Justin’s beaming father, retired Air Force Colonel Florencio Junio, who is confident his son’s feat will make it to the record books.
Like the little boy that he is, Justin arrived at the pier carried by his mother Velina. And when he got out of the water almost two hours later, he climbed back into his mother’s arms, who immediately rushed him to a waiting vehicle, where he guzzled his choco drink.
“He is tireless. Pag pinabalik mo sa tubig iyan, lalangoy siya uli,” said his head coach Msgt. Jaitulla Jairulla of the Philippine Air Force, a former Olympian swimmer.
Before the swim started, Junio had a little vomiting episode that worried Jairulla.
But when the signal to start sounded, the young boy was first to jump into the water.
Swim crew
Swimming beside him were Jairulla and his assistant coach, Benson Kasim, while a bunch of Philippine Navy personnel on speedboats acted as marshals and directed sea traffic, asking the vessels to slow down when they approached near the swimming toddler.
The lap towards Mandaue wharf was an easy task for Justin. But on the way back to Lapu-Lapu the current became too strong for his little arms to handle, prompting the team to take a detour towards General Milling Corporation.
“We expected a strong current. Pero doble ang lakas na iyun,” Jairulla said.
As Justin was trying to swim against the current, heaps of waste, including the carcasses of a dog and a cat, drifted towards Justin’s direction.
“I am confident that he will not get sick because we have prepped him up and gave him supplements to boost up his immune system for four months,” Velina said.
But Justin swam with all his might and as much as his little arms could take him. When the people saw him paddling hurriedly towards the boat to her waiting mother, the crowd burst into cheers.
