“Summa cum laude for mom, SEA Games gold is for dad,” said Jamie Lim upon claiming the gold in the 30th Southeast Asian Games karate competition.
Just months after graduating with the highest honors from the University of the Philippines, Jamie made a stellar showing at the SEA Games. She secured a win in the women’s +61kg kumite despite having been on a 4-year hiatus from the sport.
EDWIN BACASMAS/INQUIRER
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“I can’t believe that both of them happened this year. 2019 is so perfect for me. I’m just so grateful,” she spoke of both her momentous achievements. “I look up to my mom and dad so much.
To even come close to him, to be compared to him and mom, it’s so big for me.”
“It’s just hard work, and focus, and discipline. Everything that I learned from my parents, I saw it from them,” Jamie adds.
Even though Jamie had less than a year to prepare, having taken a break from karate while earning her degree in BS Mathematics, she made quick work of the competition. “I just believed in myself. I know how to handle the situation. I believed in my techniques. I know I’m made for this – for the moment, for the pressure,” Jamie said.
“Karate is always my art. SEA Games in the Philippines, how special is that?
The timing is perfect. I got my goal in academics and I think the signs just told me to,” Jamie explains. “It’s calling me to come back and I just went for it, no matter what happens, and it paid off.”
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Sadly, Samboy was unable to watch and cheer on his daughter at the event. After suffering a cardiac arrest in November, the PBA legend has been bedridden and lacking the ability to see, speak, or move.
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