Six-year-old Filipina swimmer Elyannah “Ellie” Marinelli turned in a record-setting performance at the 3rd Asian Open Schools Invitational Short Course Swimming Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, collecting five gold medals, one silver and two new meet records.
Representing Maharlika Aquatics, Marinelli topped the girls’ six-and-under division with 274 points, finishing 78 points ahead of the runner-up based on official results from the Thailand Aquatic Sports Association.
Marinelli captured gold in the 25-meter and 50-meter freestyle, 25-meter backstroke, and 25-meter and 50-meter breaststroke. She added a silver medal in the 25-meter butterfly.
Her most impressive results came in the breaststroke events.
Marinelli clocked 26.05 seconds in the 25-meter breaststroke, lowering the previous meet record of 27.54 seconds set in 2024. She followed that with a 57.23-second performance in the 50-meter breaststroke, eclipsing the previous standard of 59.14 seconds established in 2025.
Her overall performance earned Marinelli the Most Outstanding Swimmer award for the girls’ six-and-under category.
Her Bangkok campaign ended with six individual medals, two meet records and the highest point total in her age division, giving the young Filipina another strong international result to build on. (Adrian Co)
