Akiko Thomson-Guevera continues to give back to the sports world, years after hanging up her goggles.
 
An iconic figure in the Philippines and beyond, the Cal women's swimming alumna and three-time Olympian enjoys helping the next generation of athletes achieve its dreams. She is currently the president of the Philippine Olympians Association and was also a TV host and journalist for seven years of her post-swimming life.
 
Born Gillian Akiko Nakamura Thomson, she was one of three children of Hiroko Nakamura, her Japanese mother, and James Marsh Thomson, her white, American father, in Washington, D.C., in 1974. Her parents gave her the middle name of Akiko – which means "Autumn's Child" – in part because she was born in October, and it wound up becoming her given name.
 
Her father had been stationed at the U.S. Naval Base in Subic Bay in the Philippines in the 1960s, and he brought his family back with him in the 1970s when he became the director of the country's Peace Corps. The youngest Thomson, who began swimming at the age of 6, became a naturalized citizen of the Philippines at age 12 thanks to a presidential decree. She has dual citizenship with the United States.
 
Fast forward to the early 1990s, when Akiko Thomson started her college career alongside another notable first-year Golden Bear.
 
"I always joke we were freshmen together," Cal head coach Teri McKeever said.
 
Thomson was a member of the first Cal women's swimming team coached by McKeever in 1993. By that point, the accomplished athlete had already competed in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul at the age of 13, and in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona - swimming in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles and the 100- and 200-meter backstrokes in both competitions.
 
She is the most decorated Filipina to swim in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, winning eight gold medals and four silvers from 1987-1993.
 
Thomson went on to earn the Most Improved Award for the Bears in 1994, when she was named an All-American for the first time. She garnered All-America honors again in 1996. That was a big year for Thomson, who also competed in the Atlanta Olympics, swimming the 50 free, 100 and 200 back, and 200 individual medley.
 
But 1996 also marked the end of an era, as the 21-year-old retired from competitive swimming.
 
"I was young, but it was my third Olympics, and I was ready to move on and try new things," she said.
 
While she majored in anthropology at Cal, she also took several theater classes and enjoyed performing, which led her to work in television back home. She hosted a sports show and then transitioned to a journalist role on an investigative-type show called "Probe."
 
"I really enjoyed that," she said. "Soon after I was invited by the Philippine Sports Commission to be one of their commissioners. But that was the last thing on my mind. Upon reflecting about it and talking to my dad about it, I realized what a wonderful opportunity it was."
 
She spent eight years with the PSC in a rewarding role that gave her one of her first opportunities to work with other sports besides swimming.
 
In 2009, she made time to marry and, with husband Chips Guevera, start a family, including sons, Noah, 10, Elijah, 8, and daughter Sachiko, 4. In 2011, she founded the Akiko Thomson Swim School, which is currently closed due to the pandemic.
 
The busy Thomson-Guevera also became the president of the Philippine Olympians Association in 2015.
 
"Initially I was scared, because it wasn't something I aspired for, but it's been great," she said. "It's a lot of work."
 
The POA works under the umbrella of the World Olympians Association, earning WOA grants to run its various programs, including getting Filipino athletes to work with disadvantaged youth.
 
"It's been meaningful work," Thomson-Guevera said. "We've partnered with an NGO called ChildHope Philippines, which focuses on street kids in metro Manila. It started off as a couple of clinics, and then we ended up running it for two years. We'd get Olympians and sometimes non-Olympians together once a month, and we'd feed the kids and give them a clinic where they'd practice basketball, badminton and taekwondo.
 
"We have varied activities. We uphold the Olympic values and we try to encourage our Olympians to remain involved and be role models. Last year we did some work with mental wellness sessions for our athletes. One area that we want to focus on in the future is helping our athletes make the transition to life after sports."
 
She added, "Giving back is something I learned from my father. He was always involved in the community around him. Always part of, always contributing for the good."
 
Thomson-Guevera also took the time to participate in another Summer Olympics as a volunteer guide at the 2004 Athens Games.
 
She likewise gives back to her alma mater when time and distance permit. She has contributed to a good-luck video for the Cal team and has spoken to younger Bears about her many international experiences. In 2017, she trekked back to Berkeley to join the celebration of McKeever's 25th year as Cal's head coach.
 
In recent months, Thomson-Guevera participated in Zoom events with other Cal alumnae and supporters of the program.
 
"I am ever grateful for the education I received at Cal and for the coaches that made my collegiate experience one I look back at fondly," Thomson-Guevera said. "One of my greatest accomplishments is retiring from the sport while still passionate about it. I had lost the passion somewhere along the way and was ready to retire prematurely. But because of wise counsel and adjustments made in my training that helped me rediscover joy and fun, I'm thankful I stayed on and ended up being co-captain my senior year."
 
"What I think about when I think of Akiko is a young lady with such a beautiful heart who's so giving," McKeever said. "I always remember her ability to inspire other people, care about people and be a good listener. Here's someone who graduated 25 years ago and still follows what you're doing and is willing to give her time and energy to support you. That's an awesome example for our current team."