Kayla Sanchez

Kayla Noelle Sanchez (born 7 April 2001) is a swimmer who has represented the Philippines internationally since 2023. Sanchez initially represented Canada until 2022 at the Olympic and World championship level, and is a two-time Olympic medalist in Tokyo.

Early life Kayla Sanchez was born on 7 April 2001 in Singapore, to Overseas Filipino Workers in the country. Her father is a native of Mabalacat, Pampanga, while her mother traces her roots to Baguio. She joined a swimming team at age 4. After a few years, her family eventually emigrated to Canada.

Later that year she also competed at her senior championships, the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. Sanchez was part of the Canadian team in the women's 4×100 m freestyle relay event, finishing fourth overall.

2018 season In September 2017, Sanchez was named to Canada's 2018 Commonwealth Games team. Individually, she finished sixth in the 50 m freestyle, seventh in the 100 m freestyle, and ninth in the heats of the 200 m medley. She won two silver medals as part of the Canadian relay teams in the 4x100 m and 4x200 m.

2019 season In the Autumn of 2019, Sanchez was member of the inaugural International Swimming League swimming for the Energy Standard International Swim Club, who won the team title in Las Vegas, Nevada, in December. At the London match in November she won the 200m Freestyle over teammate Femke Heemskerk in a time of 1:52.72. Competing as part of the Canadian team for the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, she won bronze medals in the 4x100 m and 4x200 m freestyle relays. She won a silver medal as part of the Canadian team in the 4x100 m freestyle relay, alongside Maggie Mac Neil, Rebecca Smith, and Penny Oleksiak. She also swam the freestyle leg in the heats of the 4x100 m medley relay, helping the Canadian team finish the heats in first place, and earned a bronze medal when the finals team finished third (having been replaced in the final by Oleksiak).

Sanchez competed individually in the heats of the 100 m freestyle, setting a new personal best and qualifying through to the semi-finals, but withdrew to conserve energy for the 4x200 m freestyle relay, where the Canadian team ultimately finished fourth.

2021 season Sanchez announced plans to study political science at the University of British Columbia beginning in January 2022, following the completion of the ISL's third season. As part of her studies she would compete as part of UBC's Thunderbirds swimming team.

The season concluded at the 2021 World Swimming Championships, where Sanchez won four medals (three gold and one silver) as part of Canadian relay teams.

2022 season At the Canadian swimming trials for upcoming championship events, Sanchez was fourth in the 200 m freestyle, before unexpectedly winning the 100 m event, finishing 0.02 ahead of Penny Oleksiak. She concluded the event with a decisive win in the 50 m freestyle.

Beginning the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in the 4x100 m freestyle relay, Sanchez was part of Canada's silver medal-winning team, a first for Canadian women at the World Championships. She won her second medal of the championships in the 4×200 m freestyle relay, where the Canadian team finished third. On the same day, Sanchez placed sixth in the semi-finals of the 100 m freestyle, qualifying to her first individual Worlds final. Sanchez qualified to the semi-finals of the 50 m freestyle, but scratched from the semi-finals in order to conserve energy for the 4×100 m mixed freestyle relay final in the same session. She recorded a personal best relay split time of 52.52 as part of the Canadian team's silver medal win. Sanchez then competed the freestyle leg for Team Canada in the heats of the 4×100 m medley relay, helping the team qualify to the final in fourth position. She was replaced in the final by Oleksiak, but shared in the team's bronze medal win. She, Oleksiak and Summer McIntosh jointly set a record at the championships for most medals by a Canadian swimmer at a single edition, with four each.

In July 2022, Philippine Swimming announced that Sanchez would start representing the Philippines. Her competitive debut as a swimmer for the Philippines occurred at the 2022 Asian Games.

By late 2023, the International Olympic Committee waived her residency requirement for her nationality change, making her eligible to qualify for the Philippines in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

2024 Summer Olympics At the games in Paris, Sanchez reached the semi-final stage of the 100m freestyle with a time of 54.21 having set a Philippines national record in the heats with a time of 53.67.

2025 season Sanchez swam in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand winning three gold medals and five silver medals. She broke three Philippine national records in relay events.

Personal bests Long course (50 m pool) Event Time Meet Location Date Notes 50 m freestyle 24.68 2021 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials Toronto, Canada 21 June 2021 100 m freestyle 53.12 2020 Summer Olympics Tokyo, Japan 28 July 2021 200 m freestyle 1:57.23 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Tokyo, Japan 9 August 2018 400 m freestyle 4:21.88 2016 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials Toronto, Canada 5 April 2016 50 m backstroke 28.13 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series Knoxville, United States 10 January 2019 100 m backstroke 59.78 2021 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials Toronto, Canada 19 June 2021 200 m backstroke 2:15.86 2016 Age Group International Etobicoke, Canada 4 June 2016 50 m butterfly 27.52 2023 Eindhoven Qualification Meet Eindhoven, Netherlands 9 April 2023 100 m butterfly 1:01.94 2016 Ontario Summer LC Championships Etobicoke, Canada 1 July 2016 200 m individual medley 2:12.64 2017 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships Indianapolis, United States 26 August 2017 400 m individual medley 4:57.46 2016 Speedo Eastern Canadian Open Montreal, Canada 19 February 2016

Short course (25 m pool) Event Time Meet Location Date Notes 50 m freestyle 23.71 2019 International Swimming League London, United Kingdom 24 November 2019 100 m freestyle 51.45 2018 Swim England Winter Championships (25m) Sheffield, United Kingdom 14 December 2018 WJR, NR 200 m freestyle 1:52.59 2018 Lausanne Swim Cup Lausanne, Switzerland 21 December 2018 400 m freestyle 4:13.27 2024 University of Calgary Dino Invitational Calgary, Canada 25 October 2024 NR 50 m backstroke 26.36 2019 Ontario Junior International Toronto, Canada 13 December 2019 100 m backstroke 58.12 2017 NYAC Cup Toronto, Canada 4 November 2017 50 m breaststroke 30.44 2018 Downtown Sprint Meet Toronto, Canada 20 October 2018 100 m breaststroke 1:05.93 2019 Ontario Junior International Toronto, Canada 13 December 2019 50 m butterfly 25.85 2025 U Sports Swimming Championships Toronto, Canada 7 March 2025 NR 100 m individual medley 57.80 2018 Lausanne Swim Cup Lausanne, Switzerland 21 December 2018 200 m individual medley 2:04.64 2018 Swim England Winter Championships (25m) Sheffield, United Kingdom 14 December 2018