Gillian Akiko Nakamura Thomson-Guevara (born October 8, 1974) is a

Filipina Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino, English, or other Philippine languages. Despite formerly being subject to ...

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people who garnered fam ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and retired

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. She is the most accomplished Filipina swimmer in the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

having won eight gold medals in the biennial multi-sport meet between 1987 and 1993.

Early life and education

Gillian Akiko Nakamura Thomson was born on October 8, 1974 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in the United States. The youngest of three children, Akiko was born to a Japanese mother from

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

, Hiroko Nakamura, and an American father, James Marsh Thomson. When she was young, she and her family moved to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

where her father, who had previous experience with the United States

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serv ...

, became the executive director of the

American Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business association advocacy group and is the largest lobbying group in the United States. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President Willi ...

of the Philippines in the 1970s. Thomson entered the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

after taking part in the 1992 Summer Olympics. She graduated with a major in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

and a minor in theater. She took her master's degree in

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Career

Thomson began swimming at the age of six at the

Manila Army and Navy Club The Manila Army and Navy Club founded in 1898 was the first American social club to be established in the Philippines for the exclusive use of the U.S. military personnel and civilians, and later Filipinos. Since the time it was established, it ...

where her family had lived nearby. She became part of the club's swimming team. Thomson was invited to join the Philippine national team when she was 10 years old. She started to represent the Philippines in several swimming competitions locally and abroad after becoming a naturalized Filipino citizen through Presidential Decree No. 1983 issued in 1985. Among the tournaments she competed in are the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

South East Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

, where she won eight gold medals in total, and also in three editions of the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. She was also co-captain of the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

swimming team on her senior year at

Post-retirement

After her retirement from competitive swimming, she became a television host and journalist with Probe Productions at

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

. She opened the Akiko Thomson Swimming School at the

Colegio San Agustin – Makati Colegio San Agustín – Makati, also referred to by its acronym CSA or CSA-Makati, is a private, Catholic, co-educational basic education institution run by the Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines of the Or ...

in 2011. Thomson served as a commissioner at the

Philippine Sports Commission The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC; ) is an agency of the Philippine government that tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee, a privately-ran organization that e ...

from 2010 to 2016. She was elected as president of the Philippine Olympians Association in 2015, following the death of Art Macapagal. Motivated by her daughter's condition, she also become involved in

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

Pilipinas as its chairperson and president.

Personal life

Thomson is married to Samuel "Chips" Guevara since June 2009. They have two sons and a daughter who has Down syndrome.

Filmography

Television

*''Game Plan'' – co-host (2001–2006) *'' Probe''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Akiko 1974 births Living people ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people American people of Japanese descent American emigrants to the Philippines Ateneo de Manila University alumni Filipino people of American descent Filipino people of Japanese descent Filipino female swimmers Naturalized citizens of the Philippines Olympic swimmers for the Philippines Sportspeople from Manila Mass media people from Manila Swimmers from Washington, D.C. Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics University of California, Berkeley alumni SEA Games medalists in swimming SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines SEA Games silver medalists for the Philippines Swimmers at the 1994 Asian Games Competitors at the 1987 SEA Games Competitors at the 1991 SEA Games Asian Games swimmers for the Philippines Naturalised sports competitors