Luke Gebbie is a 24-year old Melbourne-based swimmer and is set to compete as one of the 19 Philippine athletes in this year’s summer Olympics. He completed the Philippine roster as he bagged an Olympic berth through universality placed announced by the Philippine Swimming Inc. President Lani Velasco, last 2 July.
Gebbie, alongside Remedy Rule, got their Olympic spot as they emerged as the top ranked male and female swimmers from Philippines during the qualifying window. Gebbie will compete in two categories; Men’s 100m Freestyle Heat 5 on 27 July and Men’s 50m Freestyle Heat 4 on 30 July.
In his interview with GMA, Gebbie mentioned that it is his dream to help young Filipino athletes to achieve the dream of competing in the Olympics. “One day, it is not uncommon thing to see a Filipino swimmer at the Olympics, if I could just open that door a little bit,” he said.
In 2019, Gebbie won a silver medal in 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 50m freestyle event during the 30th Southeast Asian Games. He also achieved 828 FINA (International swimming federation) points, the highest among Philippine male swimmers as of 20 June.
Gebbie’s mother Cora is a Filipina, and his father hails from New Zealand. He spent part of his high school life in Bangkok before studying at Melbourne University.
He trains at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Albert Park, as part of the Melbourne Vicentre Swimming Club.
You can watch the live games in Australia through the Olympic’s partner broadcaster— Seven Network, with streaming options via the 7Plus app.
