Jarod Hatch goes from retirement to representing PHL in Paris Olympics

Jarod Hatch was ready to bid swimming goodbye when he initially called it quits in 2021 following years of competitive action that saw him get exhausted both physically and mentally. 

However, Hatch decided to come out of his retirement after more than a year and once again represented the Philippines.

Now, he is heading to his first Olympics stint and is part of the country's 22-member delegation for the Paris Games later this month. 

The 25-year-old Hatch will see action in the men's 100m butterfly as he looks to make the most of his maiden Summer Games stint. 

Who is Jarod Hatch?

Hatch was born to a Filipina mother, Gielanie, and was raised in the United States where he would finish his studies at the UC Berkeley in 2021. Since 2018, Hatch has been representing the Philippine flag in tournaments such as the SEA Games and World Aquatics Championships. 

In the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games here in the Philippines, Hatch, who was 20 years old then, gave the country a silver medal when his team finished second at the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. 

Hatch then announced his sudden retirement from the sport in 2021, but it didn't take long for him to realize his mission may just be far from done. 

In 2023, he returned to action and bannered the Philippine swimming team at the Cambodia SEA Games, where he seized three medals, including a silver finish in the mixed 4x100m medley relay and bronzes in men's 50m and 100m butterfly. 

 

 

 

 

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Hatch Watch

For the time in his career, Hatch will compete in the Summer Games. 

This, after he and another swimmer in Kayla Sanchez managed to punch their tickets through the universality places.

However, he is up against some tough opponents with the likes of US swimmer Caelab Dressel and Hungary and Switzerland bets Kristof Milak and Noe Ponti. 

Dressel is out to defend his gold medal after ruling the same event back in the Tokyo edition, where the American tanker clocked in a world record of 49.45 seconds to rule the event while Milak and Ponti finished the race with 49.68 and 50.74 seconds each. 

They will return in the upcoming Games in hopes to further assert their dominance. 

Hatch, for his part, has competed in the same event before when he set a national record of 52.87 seconds at the 2023 World Aquatics Championship in Japan. 

—JKC, GMA Integrated News