Melcah Jen Caballero boosted her Olympic qualifying preparations after an impressive finish at the 2021 World Indoor Rowing Championships over the weekend.
Caballero, double gold medalist at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, settled for fourth in the lightweight women’s 500 meters after clocking 1 minute and 38.1 seconds behind Great Britain’s Anna Hughes-Davies.
Davies ruled the event with 1:36.6 while Tunisia’s Krimi Khadija (1:37.3) and Algeria’s Rouba Amina (1:38.1) came in second and third places.
The tournament, which began four years ago, marked the first time that it was held indoors and virtually due to pandemic restrictions. Like the continental qualifiers, rowing machines were hooked up to a race system to tally their records.
Caballero, 25, clinched a spot in the world indoor race after topping the continental qualifiers a few weeks ago.
She used the tournament as her preparations for the Asia Oceania Continental Qualifiers set May 5 to 7 in Tokyo where the top three rowers will advance to the Olympics.
Joanie Delgaco, who is also aiming for an Olympic berth, also finished in the Top 10 with a 10th place finish in the women’s U23 500m with 1:40.9 behind event winner Charlotte Dixon of Great Britain (1:31.9).
Mireille Qua finished 13th in the same event with 1:42.8.
Joachim de Jesus (lightweight men U23 500m), Alyssa Go, Wylene Lu and Kyra Louise Sandejas (lightweight women U23 500m) also saw action but didn’t make it to the finals.