Brave Erno, daughter of firefighters, dominates the waters of Palarong Pambansa

ILOCOS NORTE - Palarong Pambansa gold medalist Breanna “Brave” Erno was born to parents whose livelihood revolves around battling flames, but she opted to conquer the waters instead.

The 12-year-old Brave from Caraga region captured two medals in 2025 Palarong Pambansa, including a historic gold medal in the elementary girls' 400m freestyle, with a time of four minutes and 57.94 seconds at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium.

Brave said she discovered her love for swimming when she was in Grade 4. At first, it was because her parents, Sunshine and Hernan Jake, felt that it was their responsibility to teach their daughter basic swimming skills which is a necessity in their job as firefighters.

The young Erno eventually fell in love with the sport all on her own. However, she had to overcome setbacks early on.

"First swimming ko is Grade 4 ako, gusto ko lang naman i-try mag-swimming at pagkatapos no’n nasali ako sa division meet, pero hindi ako nakapasok sa regional kaya nag-stop ako for ilang months," Erno shared.

The following year, she joined both division and regional meets, but fell short of a slot in the Palarong Pambansa.

"Nag-start ako ulit then doon na nag-start na nag-division at regional meet ako, pero hindi na naman ako nakapasok sa Palaro. Then ngayon nag-Palaro na ako," she added.

According to Brave's coach, it was Caraga's first swimming gold medal after a long time. 

"Masaya naman dahil nakuha ang first gold ng Caraga. Very special dahil po ako po ang first gold medal ng Caraga sa swimming," she added.

Erno's recent feat also proved her mother right — nothing is impossible if you just work hard for it.

That goes with winning a gold medal, too, in the country’s premier sports stage for elementary and high school student-athletes.

"Kasi part sa trabaho namin is mag-rescue so dapat ‘yung mga bata marunong lumangoy lalo na at ‘yung sa side ko po ay taga-isla," Sunshine said in a separate interview.

"Basta ‘yung motto ko is if others can, why can't you. Gano’n lang talaga. Kung kaya ng iba, bakit ikaw hindi mo magagawa? Basta ibigay mo lang ‘yung best mo makukuha mo ‘yung goal mo and kami taga-support lang."

—JKC, GMA Integrated News