Raphael Matthew Chua

Raphael Matthew "Timmy" Chua (born October 5, 1982) is a Filipino former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events.[2] He is a two-time medalist in the same stroke at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in his home city Manila.

Raphael Matthew Chua

Personal information
Full name	Raphael Matthew Chua
Nickname(s)	Timmy[1]
National team	Philippines
Born	5 October 1982 Manila, Philippines
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke
Club	Philippine Amateur Swimming Association[1]
Coach	Ryuzo Ishikawa[1]
Medal record Men's swimming Representing the Philippines Southeast Asian Games 2005 Manila 100 m breaststroke 2005 Manila 4×100 m medley

Chua started swimming at age eleven, when he and his brother decided to join the swimming team at the Philippine Columbian Association Sports Club. In 1995, he attended a swimming camp headed by American coach Mike Cody. He aimed three main goals: to claim a gold medal at the SEA Games, to advance further into the finals at the Asian Games, and most importantly, to place in the top 16 at the Olympics. In preparation for an international level, Chua was trained by Ryuzo Ishikawa, a Japanese import who served as his longest coach and mentor during his entire career.[1]

Chua qualified for the men's 100 m breaststroke at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by achieving a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:04.93 from the Hong Kong Long Course Championships, three weeks before the Games were scheduled to begin.[3][4] Despite of his eligibility from FINA, Chua had been battling with the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) for failing to inform officials and not granting a permission to compete for the qualifying tournament.[1]

On the first day of the Games, Chua challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including three-time Olympians Jean Luc Razakarivony of Madagascar and Yevgeny Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan. He edged out Latvia's Pāvels Murāns to take a fourth spot by 0.08 of a second, outside his personal best of 1:06.37. Chua failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed fiftieth overall out of 60 swimmers in the morning preliminaries.[5][6][7]

At the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in Manila, Chua collected two bronze medals in the 100 m breaststroke (1:04.35) and 400 m medley relay (3:52.70), as a member of the host nation team.[8]

Shortly after the SEA Games, Chua retired from his 12-year swimming career, when he made a final decision to finish his engineering course at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. After a long Olympic stint, Chua is currently a technical sales and service manager for LaFarge, a multinational French company that handles cement. He is also a part-time member of the Philippine Olympic Committee board.[1]

References

1. Ferreol, Michi (25 July 2012). "Former Filipino Olympian: 'It was worth it'". Rappler. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Timmy Chua". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
3. Villar, Joey (23 July 2004). "FINA okays Chua's stint". Philippine Star. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
4. "Swimming – Men's 100m Breaststroke Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
5. "Men's 100m Breaststroke Heat 2". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
6. Whitten, Phillip (14 August 2004). "Prelims, Men's 100 Breaststroke: Kitajima, Hansen Qualify One-Two; Japanese Sets Olympic Record". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
7. Tacujan, Lito (21 August 2004). "RP tankers all primed up for SEA Games". Philippine Star. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
8. Villar, Joey (1 December 2005). "Molina dominates anew for second swim gold". Philippine Star. Retrieved 22 April 2013.