Real Name: Gillian Akiko Thomson
Birthday: October 8, 1974
Born and grew up in the United States
Caucasian father and part-Japanese, part-Filipino mother
Represented the Philippines in swimming in the 1991 Southeast Asian Games
Participated in the Olympics in 1988, 1992 and 1996
Akiko Thomson-Guevara is a three-time Olympian and an eight-time gold medallist in the Southeast Asian Games. She represented the Philippines in three consecutive Olympic Games – Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992, and Atlanta in 1996.
Akiko graduated with a degree in Anthropology & Theater at U.C. Berkeley where she was the co-captain of the Women’s Varsity Swim Team. She then furthered her education by taking up a post-graduate course on Olympic Studies at the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece and Executive Masters in Sports Management in IDHEAP, Switzerland.
The bemedaled athlete also served as the Secretary-General of the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) from 2004-2008.
She was also an Assistant Coach to the Philippine National Swimming Team who competed in the 19th Southeast Asian Games in 1997 and the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Akiko is now a swim school operator of the Akiko Thomson Swim School which teaches swimming to kids ages 4 to high school. She is also a Commissioner at the Philippine Sports Commission.
