PH para swimmer Gawilan, 10 other Team Toyota athletes, headed to Tokyo

Philippine paralympic swimmer Ernie Gawilan, along with 10 other athletes from Asia, will be representing Toyota in the upcoming weeks for this year’s Olympic Games (July 23-August 8), and the Paralympic Games Tokyo (August 24-September 5).

Gawilan is one of the 13 hero athletes from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam that Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP) has partnered with for its premier global corporate initiative, “Start Your Impossible.”

Of the 13, 11 will “join more than 250 Global Team Toyota Athletes from around the world to achieve their sporting goals and realize their dreams.”

The Team Toyota athletes from Asia are the following:

Olympic Games:

• Indonesia: Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, Badminton
• Singapore: Joseph Schooling, Swimming
• Thailand: Panipak Wongpattanakit, Taekwondo

Paralympic Games:

• India: Amit Kumar Saroha, Discus Thrower – Para Athletics
• Indonesia: Ni Nengah Widasih, Para Powerlifting
• Malaysia: Abdul Latif Romly, Long Jump – Para Athletics
• Philippines: Ernie Gawilan, Para Swimming
• Singapore: Toh Wei Soong, Para Swimming
• Singapore (Toyota Motor Asia Pacific): Sophie Soon, Para Swimming
• Thailand: Anchaya Ketkaew, Para Swimming
• Vietnam: Nguyen Thanh Trung, Para Swimming

 “We are thrilled and overjoyed that top athletes from across Asia as well as from around the globe will be going to the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 under Team Toyota. We wish them all the very best as they compete safely on the world stage. Thank you for inspiring all of us with your unwavering commitment to your sport, and to “Starting Your Impossible” in your communities in Asia through your hero projects,” TMAP Chief Operating Officer Hao Tien was quoted as saying.

In a statement, TMAP also expressed pride over the partnership forged with the abovementioned sportspersons whom they call as Dual Heroes as they laed their own Hero Projects with local partners and organizations in their respective communities.

In the Philippines, Gawilan has partnered with Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) to push for his advocacy of keeping the waters clean to protect and preserve the country’s marine ecosystem.

Back in 2019, TMP and Gawilan led the “National Coastal Cleanup and Mangrove Planting Day” project wherein 1,900 volunteers were able to collect 1,200 sacks of trash and planted 40,000 mangrove propagules in 35 coastal areas across the archipelago.

Through the partnership with Gawilan, TMP was also able strengthen its ties with the Philippine Paralympic Committee to provide support to the organization and its athletes. Aside from the Coaster for the mobility needs of the Filipino Para-athletes during their trainings and local competitions, TMP also donated Paralympic wheelchairs for the Philippines Wheelchair Racing team.

Photos from Toyota Motor Philippines

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