Filipino swimmers of the Behrouz Elite Swimming Team (BEST) ended its campaign in the 2024 Buccaneer Invitational Swimming Championships held at the St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo, Japan with an impressive haul of seven gold, six silver and 12 bronze medals.

The country’s swimmers were bannered by International School for Better Beginnings standout Kristian Yugo Cabana, who won four out of the seven top medal finishes, and Immaculate Heart of Mary College-Paranaque’s Behrouz Mohammad Madi Mojdeh, who got the other three gold medals.

Cabana secured top honors in the boys’ 3 to 14 100-meter butterfly, 400m individual medley (IM), 100m freestyle1 and finally in the 200m IM with a time of 2:13.19. The 14-year-old from Lucena City also won a silver in the 200m butterfly (2:13.42), and bronze in the 200m backstroke (1:03.54) to wrap up his stellar performance.

On the other hand, Mojdeh triumphed in the boys’ 13-14 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:12.92, outpacing Kenjiro Koya (1:13.08) and Kenny Schamisso (1:13.16) who settled for silver and bronze, respectively. It was his second gold, adding to his earlier win in the 200m breaststroke event and two bronzes in the 200m butterfly (2:22.96) and 200m Individual Medley (2:21.68).

Not to be outdone was Mikhael Jasper ‘Mikee’ Mojdeh who excelled in the boys' 9-10 class, winning silver in the 100m butterfly (1:25.69) and two bronzes in the 50m backstroke (38.23) and 100m IM (1:23.95).

Therese Annika Quinto chipped in a couple of bronze medals in the girls' 13-14 50m freestyle (29.45) and 100m backstroke (1:15.89), while Clara Maligat likewise won bronze in the girls' 13-14 200m butterfly (3:05.85).

The Filipinos swimmers’ impressive performance cemented BEST’s position as a force to be reckoned with in international swimming competitions.

“It was a great campaign. All our swimmers delivered and won medals, and we're so proud of them. (Our athletes) fought hard until the final day, making all the trainings and sacrifices worth it,” BEST team manager Joan Mojdeh enthused after the competitions.

Mojdeh also expressed gratitude to the Filipino community in Japan for their support, particularly Myles Beltran, Arnel Punzalan, Marilyn Yokokoji, Sheryl Alcantara Yusa, Sheryl Ballesteros, Sahlee Bucao Endo, and Shirley Dizon Yasaka.

“We’re grateful for the assistance and support from the Filipino community here,” Mojdeh added, also thanking coaches Sherwyn Santiago and Jerricson Llanos and Swim League Philippines (SLP) president Fred Ancheta.