Under the dim glow of early morning lights, when most teenagers are still asleep, one young swimmer has already learned how to endure silence, fatigue, and doubt—long before she ever touched an international podium.
Nor-Ayn Tiam Wat Darkis, better known as Yunee, is a 17-year-old Grade 11 student from Ateneo de Zamboanga University who brought home a gold medal in the 10-kilometer Junior Open category at the Oceanman Open Water World Championship in Dubai on December 7, 2025. Clocking in at 4:21:55, she didn’t just win a race—she carried Jolo, Sulu, and the spirit of the Tausug people across open water and into global view.
Where the sea became home
Yunee’s connection to the water began before she understood what training or competition meant. “When i was small, maybe kinder or grade 1 or 2, i was intentionally thrown by my father to the water,” she shares with TGFM. The experience never frightened her. Instead, it stayed vivid—an early awakening. “From there, i just loved the feels of the water.”
Beach outings became something she constantly looked forward to. The pull of the sea was instinctive, something she says she still cannot fully explain. “I was always drawn to the beach—the sea. Even until now, i just love the water.”
Swimming remained play until her family moved to Zamboanga City. Seeing her natural attachment, her mother asked if she wanted to train formally. A free two-week learn-to-swim program sponsored by the city government opened the door. “After that she enrolled me in the swimming training,” Yunee says. “From then on, i am already in swimming.”
A life shaped by discipline
What followed was a routine built on sacrifice. From Monday to Friday, Yunee wakes up at 3 a.m. By 4 a.m., she is already at the grandstand, training until 6:30 a.m.—school bag, uniform, and packed lunch always in hand. From there, she goes straight to class.
Afternoons are reserved for gym work—core strength, pulling, kicking—while weekends begin with training as early as 5:30 a.m. Even leisure is rationed. “Even watching tv is limited for me,” she admits. By the time she finishes studying, sleep becomes the priority. “I need that energy to go on the next day.”
It’s a rhythm she repeats daily, not out of pressure, but commitment.
Carrying Lupah Sug wherever she swims
Growing up in Jolo, Sulu shaped more than her surroundings—it shaped her mindset. “My beloved Jolo, its sea, is my inspiration,” Yunee says. “I guess the breath of sulu sea is part of each Tausug.”
Her words turn deeply personal when she speaks of home. “That is why, even how far we go, we always return to our LUPAH SUG… had it not been for sulu, i don’t think i am where i am now.”
For Yunee, swimming is inseparable from identity. “Wherever i’ll go, i’ll take LUPAH SUG with me,” she says. “Now, it sends me chills.”
Dubai, illness, and resolve
The moment she realized she was competing internationally remains vivid. “WOW!” she says. “So, this is it. finally, i’m going international. i was ecstatic!”
Excitement, however, quickly met reality. Upon arriving in Dubai, Yunee fell ill. “I immediately felt the change of weather. i caught colds. then, on the day of the competition, i already had fever.”
The conditions were unforgiving. The waves were rough, and the field intimidating. “Facing those different nationalities who were tall and all looked like predators, while i was small, i cannot help to become nervous,” she admits.
Still, she swam. Though she usually finishes 10 kilometers in just over three hours, illness slowed her pace. “Because i was sick, i was able to finish 10 km at 4hours and 21 mins.”
What kept her moving was not confidence, but memory. As she cut through the water, faces flashed in her mind—her family, her school, her Gentoo Swimming Club, her coach Veans Villanueva, the steadfast support of Sulu Governor Totoh Tan and Vice Governor Abdusakur Tan, and the Tausug people who helped make her journey to Dubai possible. “I kept telling myself: you’re racing your race.”
When she finished, gold in hand, her reaction was simple. “ALHAMDULILLAH (all praise to Allah), we made it.”
A victory shared
The celebration back home was loud, joyful, and overwhelming. “Whoaaaaa! whoaaaaa! whoaaaa!! ikaw na!!” her friends shouted. Teachers congratulated her. Family members texted the same word over and over: WHOAAAAA.
Yet Yunee admits she once wished fewer people knew she was competing, afraid of the pressure. Her mother’s reminder stayed with her: the moment she competed, she was already a winner.
“This is not only mine,” Yunee says of the gold medal. “This is ours.”
Dreams beyond the finish line
Swimming is central to her life, but it does not define her limits. “With or without swimming, i will pursue my studies,” she says. Yunee dreams of becoming a speech therapist, “In shaa Allah.”
As an athlete, she hopes for more—representing the Philippines in the SEA Games and the Olympics, and defending her Oceanman title in the future. “I pray to put LUPAH SUG an indelible mark in the history,” she says. “Let me swim. let me race. let me raise our race.”
For now, she returns to the water—not chasing glory, but answering a call she heard long before medals existed.
