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Timmy Chua

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Timmy Chua
Personal information
Full nameRaphael Matthew San Miguel Chua
NicknameTimmy[1]
National teamPhilippines
Born (1982-10-05) October 5, 1982 (age 44)
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
ClubPhilippine Columbian Association
College team UP Fighting Maroons
CoachRyuzo Ishikawa[1]
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the  Philippines
Southeast Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place2005 Manila100 m breaststroke
Bronze medal – third place2005 Manila4×100 m medley

Raphael Matthew San Miguel Chua (born October 5, 1982), known as Timmy Chua, is a Filipino former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events.[2] He is a two-time medalist in the same stroke at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.

Early life and education

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Raphael Matthew "Timmy" Chua was born on October 5, 1982[3] At the age of 11, he and his two older brothers joined the swimming team of the Philippine Columbian Association Sports Club. Initially, Chua was slower than his brothers, prompting his coaches to advise him to refrain from participating in other sports and games so he could focus on improving his swimming. He also attended San Beda High School. In 1995, at age 13, Chua participated in a swimming camp led by American coach Mike Cody.[1]

Chua swam for the San Beda Lions in the junior division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He was named Junior MVP in swimming in NCAA Season 74 in 1999.[4]

Chua attended the University of the Philippines Diliman. He also swam for the university swimming team in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).[5]

Career

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Timmy Chua specialized in breaststroke as a swimmer. He trained under various coaches such as Angelo Lozada and Japanese coach Ryuzo Ishikawa.[1]

Chua qualified for the men's 100 m breaststroke at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by achieving a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:04.93 from the Hong Kong Long Course Championships, three weeks before the Games were scheduled to begin.[6][7] Despite his eligibility from FINA, Chua had been battling with the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) for failing to inform officials and not granting a permission to compete for the qualifying tournament.[1]

On the first day of the Games, Chua challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including three-time Olympians Jean Luc Razakarivony of Madagascar and Yevgeny Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan. He edged out Latvia's Pāvels Murāns to take a fourth spot by 0.08 of a second, outside his personal best of 1:06.37. Chua failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed fiftieth overall out of 60 swimmers in the morning preliminaries.[8][9][10]

At the 2005 Southeast Asian Games in Manila, Chua collected two bronze medals in the 100 m breaststroke (1:04.35) and 400 m medley relay (3:52.70), as a member of the host nation team.[11]

Chua was part of the multi-school Philippines squad which took part in the 2006 Asean University Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.[12]

Retirement

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Shortly the SEA Games, Chua retired from national duty to focus on finishing his engineering course at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. By 2012, Chua had become technical sales and service manager for LaFarge, a multinational French company that handles cement. He is also a part-time member of the Philippine Olympic Committee board.[1]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ferreol, Michi (July 25, 2012). "Former Filipino Olympian: 'It was worth it'". Rappler. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  2. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Timmy Chua". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Chua, Raphael Matthew". The Living Archive of Olympians PH. Philippine Olympians Association. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Letran sweeps senior, junior titles in NCAA". Manila Standard. March 1, 1999. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  5. ↑ Atencio, Peter (October 1, 2001). "Swim records shattered". Manila Standard. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  6. ↑ Villar, Joey (July 23, 2004). "FINA okays Chua's stint". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Swimming – Men's 100m Breaststroke Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Men's 100m Breaststroke Heat 2". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. August 14, 2004. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  9. ↑ Whitten, Phillip (August 14, 2004). "Prelims, Men's 100 Breaststroke: Kitajima, Hansen Qualify One-Two; Japanese Sets Olympic Record". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  10. ↑ Tacujan, Lito (August 21, 2004). "RP tankers all primed up for SEA Games". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  11. ↑ Villar, Joey (December 1, 2005). "Molina dominates anew for second swim gold". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Uy bags 3rd swimming gold medal". December 23, 2006. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
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