FIL-AM and four-time Southeast Asian Games 400-meter hurdles king Eric Cray had a poor start in the resumption of his Olympic qualifying bid yesterday (Saturday in the US), clocking 51.61 seconds to finish third in the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas.
Running in his first race in over a year, Cray finished behind Kenyan and Texas A &M varsity athlete Motailel Mpoke (50.53) and El Salvador’s Pablo Ibanez (51.16), who finished first and second, respectively, at the Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium in Waco, Texas.
The 30th Southeast Asian Games double gold medalist had earlier sent the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association a schedule stating the Bryan Clay Invitational at the Azusa Pacific University Cougar Athletic Stadium in Azusa, California would be his initial meet for the outdoor season.
But Cray apparently decided to see action in an event located just 164.4 kilometers north and a 90-minute drive from his base in Austin.
His time was off his national mark of 48.98 seconds set in 2017 at the Meeting de Atletismo in Madrid, Spain and far off from the Olympic qualifying mark of 48.90 seconds for the Tokyo Olympic Games in July.
“I wish him (Cray) all the best but he really has a mountain to climb,” noted former Philippine Sports Commission statistician turned athletic coach Andrew Pyrie, who runs the pinoyathletics.info website and currently trains some outstanding local junior runners.
Pyrie said this might be Cray’s last chance to qualify for his second straight Olympic Games after making his debut at the Rio de Janeiro Olympiad five years ago “because he will be 35 years old when the next Olympics rolls around.”
