NOT one, not two, but a whopping seven gold medals for 15-year-old swimmer Luis Jurado.
The pride of Central Visayas completed a sweep of all seven of his events in the National Prisaa Games 2026 swimming competition after ruling the boys’ 12-15 Youth A 400-meter freestyle on Wednesday morning, May 13, 2026, at the Panaad Park and Sports Complex in Bacolod City.
“This is a very big victory because it’s my first Prisaa, and I’m very happy that it turned out so well. It’s been a very good experience overall,” he said after emerging as the most decorated athlete of the meet so far.
“For me, winning seven golds and maximizing this competition means a lot because my training paid off,” Jurado added.
In the first two days of competition, the incoming Grade 10 student from the University of Bohol DVT had already made his presence felt after capturing individual gold medals in the 50m (25.96 seconds), 100m (56.19), 200m (2:03.82), and 1,500m (18:20.16) freestyle events.
Jurado, a Filipino-Spanish swimmer born to a Filipina mother, added two more gold medals in relay events.
He anchored Travis Malnegro, Bry Delito, and Vittorio Gallito to victory in the 4x400m freestyle relay (4:00.77). He also teamed up with Gallito, Zachary Navarro and Seanne Pagay to win the 4x200m freestyle relay (2:02.86).
A freestyle specialist, Jurado is bracing for tougher competition in two of the country’s biggest grassroots sporting events, where he expects to face the nation’s top freestyle swimmers, including standouts from public schools.
“For my goals, I’m aiming to compete against the best in the whole country, not just in private schools. In Palaro and Batang Pinoy, I’ll try to win more medals,” added Jurado, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of another Palaro standout and decorated swimmer TJ Amaro. / DZSR SPORTS RADIO