PALARONG Pambansa 2018 gold medalist and secondary girls 800-meter freestyle record holder Juliana Marien Villanueva smashed her own mark in the recently-concluded Davao City Athletic Association (DCAA) Meet 2018 swimming competition at the Ateneo de Davao University Matina pool campus.
The 14-year-old Grade 8 student of Precious International School of Davao (PISD) registered nine minutes and 30.46 seconds to win the secondary girls 800m freestyle gold medal, beating her Palaro record of 9:45.40.
She also collected three more golds in secondary girls 400m freestyle, secondary girls 200m butterfly and secondary girls 200m freestyle for Unit 8.
Villanueva's gold haul this year also surpassed her three-gold output last year.
"I can say I've improved this year and to prepare for Davraa, I would have to train hard and pray," she told SunStar Davao in a text interview.
Her DCAA feats were the fruits of her rigid training. She trains three hours every day. "Twice a day where there is no school. My target is to break my personal best time."
It is interesting to note that she goes to Tagum City during weekends to train at its Olympic-sized pool located inside the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex.
The swimming sensation more than lived up to her billing.
She went on saying, "It's not the gold I'm aiming for but being able to break my personal best time and doing my best."
Yana, as she is fondly called by family and friends, looks forward to competing in the Davao Region Athletic Association (Davraa) Meet 2019 and in the Palarong Pambansa 2019 that Davao City will be hosting.
"I can say it would be an advantage for me, location-wise," Yana, who is mentored by veteran coach Jun Rodriguez, added.
She still has long Palaro years ahead of her and the Dabawenya ace is expected to lead Davao City's campaign in the 2019 edition of the sportfest for elementary and secondary athletes.