Excellence, One Inch at a Time

One inch at a time. This was how two-time Olympian and bemedalled swimmer Eric Buhain described his own drive towards swimming excellence at the Online Sports Leadership Program of the Philippine Olympians Association and the Ateneo de Davao University. “One inch at a time” was a progress advice that his father gave him when he had to start swimming with girls since as a beginner as he couldn’t keep up with the boys at that time. This advice stuck with Buhain throughout his career as he made consistent “inches” kind of improvements after being diagnosed with Primary Complex, Hepatitis A, but which also saw him make two trips to the Olympics, a goal that he set when he was ten years old.

Recalling that fateful moment that he refers to as “the talk” when he was only ten years old, he said that his father asked him what he wanted achieve in swimming: to be a champion at the Palarong Pambansa, go to the Southeast Games (SEAG) or be an Olympian. After asking if it were possible to be an Olympian, his father advised, “Kailangan mo lang ma buo ang loob mo at maniwala ka at mangako ka din. You make a promise to yourself that you will become one,” Buhain’s father said. If he would shoot for a Palaro championship, he only needed to wake up the family helper so that he could be accompanied to the 5AM practice. Buhain’s father then added, “But if you want to become an Olympian, wake us up.” And on that fateful Monday morning, he woke up his parents at 4AM and made the promise that he was going to be an Olympian.

Inch by inch, he started winning competitions at ten years old and wanted more. He started his international career when he was eleven and won a bronze at the SEAG Age Group Youth Games. He then won a gold medal at the same event the year after, setting the tone for a career highlighted by over 500 gold medals. At fourteen, he made the national seniors team with teammates who qualified for the 1984 LA Olympics. What served as the turning point of his career was when American swimming coach John Van Meter told him that he was an under-achiever even if he was already a national record holder and was the youngest member of the national team at fifteen. “The following day, ibang Eric Buhain ang nakita ni Coach John,” he recalls. In 1985, he won his first SEAG gold medal in the 400-meter individual medley event, the first of thirteen SEAG career golds.

Buhain achieved another milestone as he graduated from high school at La Salle Zobel and didn’t get a grade below 85 in any subject, a condition set for him by his parents for him to continue swimming. This was another inch by inch feat as he had to balance his time that included 5AM practices Monday to Saturday, classes during the daytime and another practice session after classes, leaving him dead tired each time he got home at around 7:30PM. He used up every free time to study, from the car rides to practices or school, and all recesses and lunch breaks. With goals set high, he wanted to pursue college studies in the United States where he could level up in swimming. Without the benefit of internet and social media, he bought a book on U.S. universities and wrote application letters to 80 schools on a typewriter (letter by letter, inch by inch). With the help of the network of La Salle brothers, he made it to La Salle University in Philadelphia on a full scholarship along with food and dorm privileges.

At the 1987 SEAG, he won four more gold medals then rushed to the U.S. for classes as he was already absent for a month. Life in the U.S. wasn’t a bed of roses and played a big part in him maturing, as he battled homesickness, took odd jobs to earn on the side and continued on his swimming journey. With his earnings, he revealed how he asked his parents if he could go home for Christmas, but this wasn’t granted. “You can’t come home because I know you won’t go back to the U.S.,” he recalled his father saying. “I grew up right there at that moment,” he revealed. He spent his Christmas break practicing daily with his coach and the only time off was on Christmas day when he joined his roommate’s family for the day.

1988. Eight years in the making, Buhain had kept his promise and qualified for the Seoul Olympics. More importantly, he was designated as flag bearer of the Philippine delegation at the opening ceremony. He ranked 31^st and 32^nd in the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly, respectively, feats for which he was proud. The most touching moment came at the closing ceremony as the flame was extinguished. To him, this marked the start of another four years to train for the next Olympics.

The years 1989 to 1991 were highlighted with more SEAG records broken and more golds, including a $5,000 bonus for being the best swimmer. He then bought his dream car, a 1992 Toyota Corolla AE, a prized possession that remains with him today. Aside from competitions in the U.S., he now saw action in more international events, occasions that gave him the chance to go home and visit the family. 1991 was another banner year. He proudly listened to and sang the national anthem six times as he stood on the podium at the SEAG for every gold he won, a proud feeling that he could never forget. He also graduated with a degree in Business Administration from La Salle University with honors, cum laude, something that his parents weren’t aware of until the graduation ceremony. The icing on the cake of his career was qualifying for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, his second straight appearance at the Olympiad. He recalled how he placed second to the eventual Olympic gold medallist in a pre-Olympics event in the U.S., something that drove him to give it his all. “That was the closest I got to a medal. But even if I didn’t win a medal, I went home very happy and fulfilled.” he bared.

Through all these, he recalled how he sought excellence literally one inch at a time since he was ten years old. And though he won over 500 gold medals and a host of accolades, Buhain stressed that excellence per se wasn’t about all these. “True excellence,” he said, “is not always about the winning. It’s improving and making yourself better the day after you won.