BORACAY -- Vietnam swept the six-kilometer  mixed relays in both age groups of the 4th Southeast Asia Open Water Swimming  Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission Saturday, Aug. 22.

The Vietnames tankers were in a class of their own in the 14-18-year-old and 20-year-old above divisions of the meet organized by the Philippine Aquatics Inc. and sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Swimming Federation.

Ngoc Vin Dho, Kha Ni Nguyen, Tu Uyen Le Huynh, and Van Dung Cao had a combined time of one hour, 15  minutes and 43 seconds seconds to to clinch the gold in he 14-18-year-old class.

Vin Thabao Nguyen, Thi Bac Ngoc Vo, Thi Thuy An Pan  and Gu Phuc Tran were tops in the older catergory, clocking 1:13.20, in the competition organized by the Phiippine Aqua Inc. and  sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Swimming Federation.

Thailand (1:16.50) and Singapore (1:20.33) took silver and bronze, respectively, in the 14-18-year-old divsion while the Thais  (1:16.45)  and Indonesians (1:20.21) did the same in the 20-year-old above class.

With most of the Pinoy tankers still familiarizing themselves with  the intricacies of open water swimming, the country's campaigners finished fourth and last in both divisions.

In the 14-18-year-old bracket, Alexander Chu, Nuchs Veronica Ibit, Graziella Sophia Ato and Anton Paulo Dominick Della clocked 1:22.34, which coincidenally, was the same time as the older quartet of Zhyhed Pheonix Pajas, Makayla Bettina Fetalvero, Stacey Arabelle Bee and Rio Stephen Coliyay.

Bella Aaliya Pano led a 1-2-3 PH finish in the girls 16-17-year-old 3K festival event with a gold-medal time of 40:11.49, followed by Dominique Gabrielle Lepaco (50:25.27) and Samantha Dainyhel Jamelarin (50:30.06), respectively.

Sharing the spotlight was the oldest participant in the 3K men's festival event, Vernan Certeza, 85, of Jaro, Iloilo, who needed just under 90 minutes in completing the event.

PAI secretary general Eric Buhain saw a silver lining in the performance of local swimmers, noting that majority of them were still transitioning from the shorter distances of indoor swimming to the challenges of the longer open water discipline. 

"We are sowing seeds for the future with these young swimmers, an investment in open water swimming that will pay off in the long run as we aim to aggressively catch up with the rest of the region," Buhain said. 

"Given time, we aim to be at par if not better than our Southeast Asian neighbors," he said.