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SEA Games gold medalist Kayla Richardson will lead Team PH at the National Open. —PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED
Pole vaulting stars Ernest John Obiena and popular William Morrison III will not have to appear in the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships starting Tuesday as both bets are almost guaranteed gold in the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
However, the rest of Team Philippines will get a taste of the competition in the regional meet.
Sprinters Kayla Richardson and Kristina Knott as well as goalkeepers Eric Cray and Clinton Bautista will carry the torch for the country at the track meet in Ilagan City, Isabela province, which could serve as a preview of Cambodia’s SEA Games due to their presence. from some foreign entries.
Malaysia brought only 30 athletes, Vietnam has entered 16 best bets while Thailand and Indonesia got seven participants. Brunei joined the six athletes, making the annual tournament known as the National Open a preview of what to expect at the SEA Games set from May 5 to 17.
“We are seeing better performances. Apart from the athletes who have a strong chance to win gold, we hope others will perform beyond our expectations,” said Philippine Athletics Association (Patafa) national coach Jojo Posadas.
The Philippine team registered five gold medals last year at the Vietnam SEA Games through Obiena, Morrison, Cray (men’s 400m hurdles), Bautista (men’s 110m hurdles) and Richardson (women’s 100m hurdles).
Third overall
Hosts Vietnam won 22 golds on top of 14 silvers and eight bronzes and Thailand had 12 golds with 11 silvers and eight bronzes, to finish ahead of the Philippines, which ranked third in the athletics competition on the strength of seven silvers, 14- pipped bronze harvest Malaysia’s 5-3-8 output.
This year’s National Open has increased foreign participation as the meet will provide ranking points for qualification to the World Athletics Championships on August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary, and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gold medals are worth 100 points, silver 80 and bronze 60 with points awarded up to eight times in all events.
“It means that if you qualify for the final, you have earned points,” said Patafa General Secretary Edward Kho. INQ
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