Clubfoot to Triathlete
Arki Emmanuel C. Lozano was born on June 21, 2011. He was born with a bilateral clubfoot wherein both feet are twisted internally and that the feet face each other. 1 in 1000 babies are born with clubfoot.
At 4 days old, he has undergone series of casting; every week for 3 months. It was a tough journey for us. Every week we need to produce 2,500 pesos for his casting procedure. We borrowed money a lot. We borrowed from friends, relatives and even lending centers. Apart from that, we need to take in all the pain that Arki was feeling. He cried a lot and he had numerous sleepless nights, so did we.
The Cast
His feet without the cast
After 4 months of casting, he was now ready to wear a shoe brace for 2 years. The agony started here. He can only move his feet in up, down and side directions. He never slept when he first wore the brace. Only until after few days, did he manage to familiarize the brace.
The shoe Brace
After 2 years, he was allowed to wear his braces at night only until he was 4 years old.
When he was 4 and 1/2 years old, we enrolled him in a swimming lesson. After 10 days, he was able to swim on his own. We decided to enroll him as a regular member of the swimming team (SULIP), headed by coach Kenneth Taylor. At a very early age, he was training everyday. And it was not an easy journey. He had tantrums most of the time. He doesn't want to swim, he was not listening to instructions. All he wanted was to play. It's quite understandable for a kid, but we just couldn't accept this fact. We get mad at him, tried to talk him out, we forced him to train. Sometimes we feel guilty, but looking back to what he was before and what he is now, we did not regret any of it.
Later part of 2017, the team transitioned from swimming to triathlon. Coping with the expenses was hard. We settled down for a cheap BMX bike since we could not afford to buy a road bike. And he was okay with it. Until finally, we were able to save money to buy him a road bike.
Training every day for almost 3 years now, made him what he is now, a TRIATHLETE.
His clubfeet now.
A glimpse of Arki's triathlon journey.....
Milo Novice Swimming Competition Mar 2016
(Cagayan De Oro)
MJ Neri Novice Swimming Competition May 2016
(Cagayan de Oro)
Maramag Mayor's Cup (May 2016)
Aldaw ta Barangay One Aquathlon (2016)
First Aquathlon Competition
Philippine Swimming League CDO 2017
(Most Outstanding Swimmer)
Division Meet Swimming Competition (2017)
Dalagan Para sa Kinaiyahan (Aquathlon 2017)
Seven Seas NAGT Aquathlon (2017)
Butuan RCL Triathlon Series (2018)
His first triathlon race
His latest race was Butuan RCL triathlon series. It was more like a tune up race for the upcoming ALaska Ironkids this coming March 2018 in Davao City. He is more than ready to take the challenge to be an Alaska Ironkid.
Links to his latest races:
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