Pain is nothing, winning is everything for this NCR tanker

By Ronilo Ladrido Pamonag

ILOILO CITY—For 17-year-old bemedalled swimmer Marinela Arabejo of the National Capital Region, the cliché ‘no pain, no gain' means a nagging pain in the nose every time she hits the pool.

Swimmer Marinella Arabejo

Arabejo has polyps in the left side of her nose, and it is allergic to pool water, from where she also got the infection, said the doctor.

And so every time she swims, she gets a nagging pain in her sinus as a result of the polyps.

She describes the pain as ‘very painful.'

“In fact, I shouldn't even be swimming now because the doctor has prohibited it,” says Arabejo is an incoming freshperson at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

But even with the pain, she continues swimming, and even manages to snare medals.

In the 2005 Palarong Pambansa, she bagged the gold in the 400-meter freestyle for secondary girls. She clocked 4:55.31; about four seconds faster than her teammate Louise Sarmiento, who clocked 4:59.85. She snared the silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly category, finishing at 2:37.60, only a second longer than Calabarzon's Lianne Marie Marquez, who clocked 2:36.73.

Swimmer Marinella Arabejo (2nd from right) with members of the NCR swim team (from left ) coach Dennis Cordero, Carlo Fernandez, Matthew Tano , Charles Flores, Mark Tano , Johannsen Aguillar and brother Ryan; and Mrs. Ma. Lorelli Palmares-Flores of Lourdes Hall Pension and Dormitory. Chris Fernandez

“It won't stop me,” she vows, “I will still continue to swim…I'm still gunning for the SEA games.”

“It is very painful, but I have to put up with it. Sometimes, I take a rest though.”

She said that she might undergo operation to remove the polyps probably this June, after which, she will have to take a break for about a month.

In the meantime, she just has to rely on her medicines, and her determination, to make it through the pain.

Arabejo has already competed in the earlier SEA age group matches held in Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam.

She said that she got into swimming because her doctor advised her so to counteract her asthma.

She was supposed to have went under the knife long ago, but the surgery had to be postponed in order to give way to swimming competitions, she says.