PARIS – Para swimmer Angel Mae Otom is primed and ready in what promises to be a highly exciting race in the women’s 50-meter backstroke S5 event of the 17th Paralympic Games swimming competitions at the La Defense Arena pool here Tuesday.

“Angel is doing good. Happy ako sa kanyang progress,” noted national para swimming coach Tony Ong on the eve of the tanker’s debut in the sportsfest for physically-challenged athletes.

“Nag-long swim na si Angel ng 3,000-meter easy swim para bumalik na yung long and lean muscles niya,” added Ong, which was why she and Ernie Gawilan decided to skip the national Paralympic team’s courtesy call at the Philippine embassy over the weekend.

A third-year irregular student at the UP-Diliman College of Human Kinetics, the armless Otom is considered a top medal among the
six para athletes vying in the Paralympic Games supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

She is ranked No. 5 in the women’s 50-meter backstroke in the Para Swimming world rankings and is tipped to make it to the finals from the first heat scheduled at 10:26 am. (4:26 p.m. Manila time).

The Olongapo City native will be racing in the first heat in lane 5, sandwiched between Chinese He Shenggao, the world No. 2, and
Liu Yu.

Reigning Paralympic champion Lu Dong, who holds the world and Paralympic record of 37.18 seconds in ruling the event in the Tokyo edition in 2021, is the obvious favorite in the second, with the top eight qualifiers advancing to the finals at 6:34 p.m. (12:34 a.m. Wednesday in Manila).

With legs built like tree trunks, Otom has a personal best of 44.72 seconds and is eager to surpass that time to achieve a podium finish and end the country’s eight-year medal drought at the Games.

The last one to do it was the late table tennis player Josephine Medina, who won a bronze in the 2016 edition held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Highly competitive beneath her bubbly personality, Otom disclosed in a recent interview that she won’t settle for second best.

“Go for gold talaga. Kung mangarap ka ba’t hindi na rin gold?” said Otom of her aspirations.

“I am very much prepared po talaga. Since February pa ko nag-training ni coach Tony Ong at bumigat at bumigat yung workout namin,” said the limbless swimming queen, who bagged four golds and emerged as the top para swimmer in the Cambodia Asean Para Games in 2023.