The Comfort Rooms

Interview With An Olympian

Daniel Coakley represented the Philippines at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He competed in the men's 50m freestyle and clocked 22.69 seconds. His time is the 2nd fastest among Asians and with his young age, he definitely deserves at least a silver in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. I did a mini-interview with him probably a month back. Here are the excerpts:

The Comfort Rooms: Hey Coakley!
Daniel Coakley: Hey man!
TCR: Better 50m time?
DC: Nope not yet. I haven't swam meters in awhile
TCR: I'm not even an athlete, so i don't know what kind of lives you guys have
DC: A hard life that surely pays off in the future...
TCR: That should be really cool huh?
DC: After the hard training? Yep it is pretty cool. What have you been up to?
TCR: Hmmm, going through with studies i guess
DC: That's good. gotta deal with those.
TCR: Oh yeah. Are you in college now?
DC: Yeah. im attending IRSC (Indian River State)
TCR: But, you're quite a shoo-in for a 50m at the Asian Games in 2010. I mean, a 50m medal...
DC: Well i hope that medal will be gold cuz that's what I am going for...
TCR: That is really cool, will you be competing in more event come 2009?
DC: I'm not sure yet
TCR: It's up to Mark Joseph (Phil. swimming coach) huh?
DC: yes
TCR: so, are you really Teofilo Yldefonso's grandson?
DC: I am the relative of his
TCR: People ask my blog a lot about that question
DC: I'm not really concerned about it. I look at him as inspiration to all athletes to succeed in their goal, that is, to medal in the Olympics
TCR: first filipino huh?
DC: yes
TCR: You're training at Bolles, do they train you "less" compared to the Americans? Because you don't carry their colors? I was just thinking about Natalie Coughlin (the Fil-Am gold medalist who opted to represent America than the Philippines)...
DC: Nope. The coaches there are dedicated to their swimmers. No matter what race you are they will do everything in their power to make you the best.
TCR: That's really nice! Do you sometimes get tired to talk about your Olympic experience?
DC: Sometimes.
TCR: I figured that out. Sorry about that!
DC: Nah you're fine!

This post was written by: Jerick Baluyot

Jerick Baluyot is a professional blogger, writer and digital marketing specialist. Follow him on Twitter