SANCHEZ Kayla Noelle

General
SINGAPORE TO CANADA TO PHILIPPINES
Her parents are both from the Philippines and were working in Singapore when she was born. In 2002 the family relocated to Canada, where she grew up in Scarborough, Ontario. She represented Canada internationally, including at multiple world championships and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, before deciding to represent the Philippines, which she became eligible for in July 2023. "I've always been really proud of my Filipino heritage. Aside from how much I've grown and how good everything has been in Canada, I needed to make this really difficult decision for myself and my family to take this opportunity to represent the Philippines. I want to help inspire people that are like me to swim and get into the sport. I am stepping into a new point in my swim career where I can start to focus on myself and at the same time I'm hoping to help people in the Philippines." (swimswam, 07 Jul 2023; goodnewspilipinas, 26 Nov 2019; viewsfromthepampang, 20 Nov 2018)

SKIPPING 2023 WORLDS
She decided to skip the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in order to focus on making her debut for the Philippines at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China. "I have met with my coach and we have decided it is best for me not to compete in Fukuoka. This means I can be focused to [win a] medal in the Asian Games in September." (swimswam, 07 Jul 2023)

In November 2018 she became the first female swimmer under the age of 18 to break 24 seconds in the 50m freestyle event, when she swam a 23.94s at the North York Aquatic Club Cup in Toronto, Canada. (swimswam, 06 Nov 2018)