THE Amoguis sisters, Lora Micah and Liaa Margarette, have been dominating the girls 11 to 13 age group in past and recent swimming competitions in Mindanao and both have been opponents in most of these races yet there is not an ounce of sibling rivalry between the two.
Lora, 12, a Grade 7 student at The Abbas Orchard School, who recently harvested eight gold medals in the PSI Grand Prix Mindanao Leg in Tagum City, said: “We usually don’t have rivalry we just support each other.”
She also welcomes opportunities when they compete against each other. “It feels great to let her be on my side while we compete because she cheers me up when I’m nervous.”
Liaa, 11, who hauled six golds and two silvers in the Grand Prix, also felt the same way, saying, “No (sibling rivalry), We support each other in competition and training.”
The younger Amoguis also said, “I don't care if I win or Lora wins because we love each other and we support each other. We may be opponents when we compete against each other but deep down we know we love each other.”
The two swimming sensations, who have also competed and put up impressive performances in past Dcaa Meet, Davraa Meet, Palarong Pambansa and Southeast Asia Age-Group, are daughters of Lowel and Cynthia, who are both physicians. Their eldest and only brother Luke Justin is 19.
Lora and Liaa started learning the ropes of swimming at age five.
Lora said her mother saw how she loves the water as she would sometimes jump into the pool without the latter's knowledge.
Liaa, however, forgot how she got into the sport. “I don’t really remember but what made me interested is that swimming is my life. I’m never gonna stop swimming. It’s a part of me.”
The sisters agreed though that it was their mom who encouraged them both to take the sport. But they just fell in love with it.
Get to know the Amoguis sisters with this Q&A:
SunStar Davao (SSD): Who is the better swimmer?
Lora: We might not agree on this but I’m sure it’s (Liaa) Marga. She is soo fast in swimming and she’s a loving and humble person.
Liaa: Lora. She’s the better swimmer because all her strokes are nice. She keeps on winning even though it’s her first year in High School and our coach doesn’t really have a problem with her.
SSD: How do you manage your time with academics and training?
Lora: I manage it simply because every athlete should learn how to manage.
Liaa: If I have homework I do it before swimming so I don’t need to sleep late.
SSD: Where and when was your first local competition? What was your finish?
Lora: Araw ng Davao 2012 gold in all events (50 butterfly, 50 breaststroke, 50 backstroke, 50 freestyle)
Liaa: Tagum Invitational Swim Meet 2013 - gold 50 butterfly, silver 50 freestyle, 50 backstroke and 50 breaststroke.
SSD: What's your favorite stroke?
Lora: Backstroke
Liaa: Butterfly and backstroke
SSD: Who is your sports idol? Why?
Lora: Michael Phelps because he has a lot of records and gold medals in the Olympics.
Liaa: Michael Phelps. He is my idol because he inspired me in my fly.
SSD: What’s your greatest dream as an athlete?
Lora: To be in bigger competitions like Asian Games or Olympics.
Liaa: Beat a world record and Palaro record and another Philippine record in SEA Age-Group.
SSD: What's your motto in life?
Lora: Win if you can, lose if you must, but never quit.
Liaa: The strongest people aren’t always the people who win but the people who don’t give up when they lose.
These two sure know want they want to achieve and their daily discipline of balancing studies and training is vital in making them champions not just in their sport but also in life.