Kayla Sanchez is a Filipino athlete in swimming. She is a gold medalist in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

Personal Information
Name –> Kayla Noelle Sanchez
Birth Date –> April 7, 2001 (Age )
Hometown –> Mabalacat City, Pampanga, Philippines
Height –> 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
College –> University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada
Degree –> Political Science

Family and Childhood
* Parents are Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Singapore where Kayla Sanchez was born. Her father is from Mabalacat City, Pampanga while her mother is from Baguio City. The family later emigrated to Canada when Kayla was young, and she grew up in Toronto, Ontario.

Career
Kayla Sanchez competed in swimming as part of the UBC Thunderbirds swimming team, earning the title of top athlete at the 2025 U Sports Swimming Championships. She represented Canada and earned two Olympic medals at the Tokyo 2020 Games (held in 2021): a silver in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay and a bronze in the 4x100m medley relay (swimming in the heats). She also holds multiple World Championship, Commonwealth Games, and World Junior medals for Canada. In 2022, Sanchez made the significant decision to switch her sporting allegiance to the Philippines, citing a desire to represent her Filipino heritage and inspire local athletes. Since making the switch, she has represented the Philippines at major events, including the Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she set a new national record in the 100m freestyle. Most recently, at the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, she won the gold medal in the women’s 100m freestyle, leading a one-two finish for the Philippines, and also secured gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

See also: Biography of Carlos Yulo , Alex Eala , Hidilyn Diaz