Asian Games: Kayla Sanchez shatters own PH record to reach 50m backstroke finals - GMA Network

Kayla Sanchez turned in an impressive performance in the women’s 50m backstroke at the 2026 Asian Games, breaking the Philippine national record in the heats on Monday at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan.

The 25-year-old swimmer clocked 28.24 seconds to finish second in Heat 3 and advance to the finals set later today.

In doing so, Sanchez broke her own previous national record of 28.47 seconds, which she set in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

Aside from Sanchez, another Filipina bet Teia Salvino also qualified for the 50m backstroke finals after clocking 29.14 seconds in Heat 4.

Sanchez and Salvino were part of the PH team that competed in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay finals on Sunday night, where they got a disqualification result.