The Philippines closed its Asian Youth Games campaign on a triumphant note as Isabella Joseline Butler captured the gold medal in the girls’ -63 kg jiujitsu division on Thursday.
The 17-year-old Butler secured the win by submitting the United Arab Emirates’ Aysha Aljneibi via collar choke with 1:05 left in the match, capping the country’s campaign with a flourish.
Born in Davao City and now based in Huntington Beach, California, Butler said she was proud to reconnect with her roots and wear the Philippine colors. Her victory raised the nation’s medal haul to seven golds, seven silvers, and 10 bronzes, good for 12th place among 45 countries.
‘We found that there was a way to represent the Philippines through the sport that I love, and I’m grateful I got the chance to do so,’ said Butler, who also won gold at the JJIF Jiu-Jitsu World Championships in Greece last year.
Butler said her next goal is to make the adult national team and compete in the Southeast Asian Games. ‘I plan to try out for the adult team next year and compete at the SEA Games,’ she said.
On her way to the top, Butler blanked Uzbekistan’s Ziyoda Shomurodova, 4-0, in the semifinals after beating Thailand’s Maria Elissavet Kokoliou, 4-0, in the quarterfinals, and submitting Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Dossymzhankyzy in the Round of 16.
‘I was able to get to my controlling positions at close guard, which I love, and work from there,’ Butler said. ‘All the stuff I’ve been training-attacks from close guard and lapel guard-I was able to display today, which was really cool.’
Butler joined fellow gold medalists Kram Airam Carpio (pencak silat girls’ 51-55kg), Charlie Ratcliff (modern MMA girls’ 45kg), Pi Durden Wangkay (athletics boys’ 200m), Lyre Anie Ngina (muay girls’ wai kru 14-15), Zeth Gabriel Bueno (muay boys’ wai kru 14-15), and the pair of Jan Brix Ramiscal and Tyron Jamborillo (muay mixed team mai muay).
Fifteen-year-old Mara Alexandria Sarinas also claimed bronze in the girls’ -57kg jiujitsu division after submitting Thailand’s Prasita Rumakom, while 16-year-old Sebastien Blaize Cabanlig narrowly missed the podium in the boys’ -48kg class.