AN American swimming official said Filipinos are individually talented, but lack of international exposure and resources to produce a world-class athlete are problems the country needs to address.

Ira Klein urged the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association to widen its promotion of the sport by establishing more active clubs all over the country in the efforts to find more talent.

“I learned that there’s only a few swimming clubs in the Philippines compared with other Asian countries,” the USA Swimming Federation director for field services said.

“The Philippines has many Olympic-sized swimming pools, that’s why athletes must be encouraged to take the sport seriously,” he added.

In the United States there are 270,000 active swimmers, and 200 of them are members of the USA national team. Klein added that government support is important, so that athletes can gain exposure and experience abroad.

“All our athletes [in the US] are well-supported, and I think the Philippines must do the same,” Klein shared.

“If the swimmers get what they need, there’s no reason why the Philippines can’t win a gold medal in the Olympics,” continued the former president of the USA Swimming Federation.

Klein was sent by International Swimming Federation to conduct a five-day intensive International Olympic Committee technical course at the Philippine Sports Institute in Pasig.

Around 60 swimming coaches, including current and former national team mentors, are participating in the coaching seminar.

“I am impressed by your local coaches, they are all eager to learn. I also discovered that aside from talented swimmers, the Philippines has a lot of good coaches who are open for change and are determined to learn new training programs and techniques,” he said.

The New York native also expressed his readiness to help the Filipinos athletes train in the US.

“Korea and Japan are already dominant in Asia, but I believe that the Philippines can be a stronger contender if it would have complete support and an effective program,” Klein went on.

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