Remedy Rule set to retire, Luke Gebbie continues fight as PH swimming plots next moves

The Philippines may have seen the last of Remedy Rule in the Tokyo Olympics as the 24-year-old tanker intends to retire after years of competitive swimming donning the country's colors.

Philippine Swimming, Inc. (PSI) president Lani Velasco told GMA News Online that Rule has decided to make the Games her swan song and is now tipped to pursue a master's degree.

"For the two swimmers in particular, they've actually been vocal about what's next for them. Remedy has stated her intent to retire from competitive swimming as she will be pursuing grad studies but we will never know," Velasco said when asked about the federation's plans moving forward.

In a previous interview with GMA News Online, Rule had been stressing her intention in finishing her graduate studies as she is currently enrolled for a Masters of Professional Science in Tropical Marine Ecosystem Management at the University of Miami.

In Tokyo, Rule competed in two events, the women's 100m and 200 butterfly.

In the 100m butterfly, she clocked 59.68 seconds in Heat 2 to finish second but she placed 25th after all the heats to officially bow out of contention. Rule also failed to clock enough time to enter the medal round of the 200m butterfly.

With Rule hanging her cap and goggles, PSI said the federation's mission will remain as clear as before with another Olympian, Luke Gebbie, set to continue representing the Philippines in major stages.

"In terms of our federation, we are gearing up for a couple of major international events. We have the coming PSI Swimming National Selection Bubble to serve as a qualifying event for the 15th FINA World Championships (25m), the 19th FINA World Championships 2022 and the 31th Southeast Asian Games," Velasco added.

"Luke will continue to train and compete for the country. As long as he still can, he wants to continue representing the country to inspire more young Filipinos to take on the sport. Hopefully we can still get them both to participate in the events mentioned."

Aside from Gebbie, a couple more tankers are on the PSI's radar as they continue their bid to bag a gold in the Olympics.

"We also have Jarod Hatch for the Men's 100m Butterfly, Jessica Geriane for the Women's 100m Backstroke, [and] Desirae Mangaoang for the Women's 100m Breaststroke."

"Ideally, we hope to see all of them competing for the Philippines in high level competitions."

—JMB, GMA News