Ernie Gawilan is a fighter.
The 30-year-old champion swimmer made a name for himself after competing in the 2016 Paralympics and becoming the first Filipino gold medalist at the Asian Para Games in 2018. He also competed 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo and carried his country’s flag in the closing ceremony.
But Ernie’s first win came in 1991, when he survived an attempted abortion that left him with no legs and an underdeveloped left arm.
Ernie joked in a 2014 interview, “I must have been a good swimmer even in my mother’s womb because I survived the abortion. I just swam.”
Ernie’s mother sought an abortion in an attempt to hide her pregnancy. He survived – though his troubles weren’t over yet. His father abandoned him, and, when he was just 5 months old, his mother died of cholera.
Ernie’s grandparents welcomed him into their home. Growing up wasn’t easy, and he endured bullying and ridicule for his appearance. His life changed when a businessman noticed him – and persuaded his grandfather to send him to a center for youth with disabilities when he was 9.
It was there that he discovered his love of water and swimming.
A swimming coach saw Ernie’s desire to swim and invited him to join his swim team for persons with disabilities.
In an interview he said, “I used to hide myself. I used to be ashamed of myself, ashamed of why I was born like this, but because of swimming, I felt like I escaped from a shell.”
“There’s a purpose for us in this world,” he stressed. “We need to be fighters in life.”