Madi Mojdeh defies fatigue to strike silver, bronze as La Salle Green Hills nears NCAA back-to-back titles
MANILA, Philippines — La Salle Green Hills (LSGH) standout Behrouz Mohammad ‘Madi’ Mojdeh added two more medals to his tally in the NCAA Season 102 swimming competitions at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
The 15-year-old standout from the Behrouz Elite Swimming Team (BEST) captured one silver and one bronze, bringing his total collection to one gold, three silvers, and two bronze medals.
The reigning NCAA Rookie of the Year claimed the silver in the 200m butterfly with a time of two minutes and 10.31 seconds.
The gold medal remained within LSGH as teammate Kristian Yugo Cabana secured the top spot by clocking 2:09.34.
“I was really happy to finally break the 2:10 barrier in the 200 Fly. Unfortunately, I was only 0.09 seconds away from breaking the NCAA record, but I'm still very happy with my new personal best and another gold medal in butterfly,” Cabana said.
In fact, LSGH swept the event as Gilbert Gonzalvo secured the bronze with a time of 2:12.48.
Mojdeh added a bronze in a grueling 400m Individual Medley, clocking 4:45.91—close behind silver medalist Ashton Jose of Letran, who finished with 4:55.25.
“Swimming the 200 Fly and 400 IM back-to-back, twice in one day, was really exhausting, especially since I barely had time to recover. But I didn't want to hold back in one event just to save energy for the other. Because I felt like, if I was going to do that, then what was all my hard work in training for?” Mojdeh shared.
After being disqualified in the 400m IM last year, Mojdeh expressed joy at bouncing back with a new personal best.
“Last year, I got disqualified in the 400 IM, which was really disappointing, but I had to move on quickly because I still had my 200 Fly. This year, I'm really happy that I got new PBs in both events and finished on the podium,” said Mojdeh.
“Honestly, on the last lap, I felt like I was about to die already, but I just kept pushing because I didn't want all those hours of training to go to waste,” Mojdeh added.
Mojdeh was thrilled that every event he entered this edition resulted in new personal best times.
“Of course, I still want to win gold, but I'm happy with my progress. I know I still have a lot to improve, and I'll just keep trusting my training and my coaches. At least I know I gave everything I had, and that's what matters to me,” Mojdeh said.
At the close of the third day of competition, the LSGH tankers are within striking distance of securing back-to-back titles in the boys’ division after accumulating a total of 605 points.
San Beda University sits in a distant second place with 331.50 points, while Letran is third with 235.50 points. TMT
