Fil-Am Kid Who Broke Phelps Swim Meet Record Honored by Local Leaders and Philippine Consulate

There’s certainly no lack of national coverage when it comes to the 10-year-old Filipino American who broke a long-standing swim meet record held by Olympics champ Michael Phelps. This time, however, his achievements were recognized by local leaders in his home city of Salinas, Monterey County and the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco.

Clark Kent Dungca Apuada was honored at the Salinas City Filipino Community Center as the new Long Course Far Western Championships 100-meter butterfly event record holder. The ceremony was led by the Filipino American Community President Orly Jimenez together with County District Supervisors John Phillips and Simon Salinas, Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter, and Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Henry Bensurto Jr..

“You are an inspiration to many of us and we would like to highlight your achievements in the hope that it will encourage other Filipinos to dare to dream and dream big. That is the magnitude of what you had accomplished,” said Bensurto in his message.

Supervisor Salinas, on the other hand, remarked how Apuada has distinguished himself as “one of the greatest ten-year-old swimmers in the history of our country.”

Clark, according to Supervisor Phillips, was also the “pride of the Filipino community as well as all the communities particularly in Monterey County.”

Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter topped it off by promising to keep track of the direction that Clark takes.

Upon seeing the presence of his supporters as well as hearing Michael Phelps’ most recent message, Clark find himself unable to “express one particular feeling.” He added that Phelps’ latest message, which tells him to keep up the good work and don’t give up, is inspirational to him.

The young swimming champion also said that he doesn’t feel any pressure “because those are the things to motivate me, pump up my energy level even more.”

Chris, Clark’s father, emphasized how important the recognition was to to Clark and their family.

“We are very humbled with the warm reception of the community and the different leaders who came here to support to our son. Thank you for recognizing our son’s efforts in the field of sports. Sa mga kababayan po namin sa Pilipinas at buong mundo, tagumpay po nating lahat ito!” (To all our fellow Filipinos in the Philippines and worldwide, this a victory for all of us!), said Chris.

“We are always here to support his goals and dreams all the way. We want to make sure that he continues to be the child that he is, to continue to have fun even in his drive to reach his goals. We don’t want him to feel pressured. As parents, we want him to continue to be our son, the child who will have a happy and fulfilling life,” he added.

Other dignitaries that sent representatives include Assembly member Anna Caballero and Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo represented by Cassandra Sanchez and Linda Gonzales, respectively.

via Inquirer / Jun Nucum