Daniel Coakley Profile

AGE: 18 years old

SPORT: Men’s 50m freestyle

OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE: 1st-time Olympian

MEDALS: Two-gold winner, SEA Games 2007 Philippine record-holder, 50m freestyle

HE was called a virtual unknown before December 2007. But all it took for Daniel Coakley to get into the national spotlight was a splashing showing in the Thailand Southeast Asian Games.

Coakley’s “Hello, world!” entry was as sudden as it was stunning.

With the impending retirement of Miguel Molina, the search for a new breed of RP swimmers has begun. And it may begin with Coakley.

“I’m very inspired,” Coakley said. “I waited and prepared hard for this. I really believe we could win with the kind of preparation we had. It was very intense.”

Coakley can actually win on genes alone, if there’s such a thing. His grandfather is Teofilo Yldefonso, a two-time Olympian who joined the 1928 Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles, and the 1936 Berlin Games. Until now, Yldefonso is the only multiple Olympic medalist in Philippine history, taking home the bronze medals in ’28 and ’32.

Yldefonso’s Olympic bloodline has come full circle with Coakley’s entry in Beijing. But Coakley wants to have what his lolo has. Maybe even more.

“My long-term goal is for the country to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming,” Coakley said, “and hopefully, I could achieve it faster than anybody else.”

Like RP Olympic teammate Ryan Arabejo, Coakley is being groomed for the big time in the 2012 London Olympics, with the Beijing Games simply a springboard for that.

“The fundamentals and the discipline are already there in Daniel,” said Spain-born Sergio Lopez, Coakley as well as Arabejo’s coach.

“I know that with the way Daniel is performing right now, there will be more Olympic appearances for him. He may not win it now, but I’m pretty sure he will win an Olympic medal soon.”

Coakley, who was born to a Hawaii-raised father and a Filipina mother, appears to be on the right track.

In the 2007 SEA Games, he shattered the Philippine record in 50m freestyle. He won two golds—one in the 50m freestyle and another as part of the 4x100 medley relay. And he registered two eye-popping times (22.8 seconds and 23.08 seconds) that were well within the Olympic qualifying standards and essentially gave him a berth in the Olympics.

“I really didn’t expect to qualify. Then I saw my mentor Pinky Brosas screaming, ‘You made it. You’re going to the Olympics.’ I really couldn’t believe it,” the six-foot-one Coakley said.

“What Daniel did was awesome. That was all pure talent. Even some of his coaches fell of their seats when they saw what Daniel did,” Brosas gushed.

Prior to the Olympics Coakley, who graduated from high school recently, left his mark in the state of Hawaii, owning the swim records in three age brackets.

To prepare for Beijing, Coakley trained extensively with teammates Arabejo and JB Walsh in Florida. Lopez, also a former Olympian, revealed nothing but good news.

“Daniel has a solid chance in the next four years,” Lopez admitted. “He is definitely one of the future swimming greats of his country. All he needs is to get the proper guidance to get to that point.”