Eric Buhain

Who is Eric Buhain?

Joseph Eric Buhain is the chairman of the Philippines' Games and Amusement Board. Buhain is also a champion swimmer, winning several Southeast Asian Games medals for the Philippines and participating in the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics.

Eric ventured into swimming not because he dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal, but because his doctor advised him to venture into sports to improve his lungs. Eric was born with Primary Lung Complex. He enrolled in a two-week swimming program at the age of seven. Yet his training was breached by another illness, hepatitis. However, this didn't stop him. A year later, he was training again and taking the advance course in swimming, the competitive course, at age nine. It was at this age that he got into the varsity swimming team of De La Salle-Santiago Zobel School and vowed to win a gold medal in the sport.

By 1981, he was a member of the Philippine Team and swam in the 400-meter individual medley at age eleven. But it was in his first Southeast Asian Games in 1985, held in Bangkok, Thailand, where he snatched the gold in the same category at the age of fifteen. He participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics and was also chosen as the country's flag bearer for the opening ceremonies.