LONG overshadowed by their artistic gymnastic counterparts, the national aerobic gymnastics squad aims to gain a share of the spotlight when it swings into action in the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games tomorrow at the Olympic Center Marquee.
Leading the way for the six-person squad is Charmaine Dolar, who aims to finally win a gold after back-to-back bronze medals in the women’s individual event in the 2019 Philippine and 2022 Vietnam editions of the sportsfest.
Gymnastics secretary general Weng Eusuya said the aero bets are keen on surpassing the lone bronze that Dolar won in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi a year ago.
Dolar, 31, is coming off an impressive fifth-place finish with a score of 19.000 in the women’s individual event of the Suzuki World Cup Series last month in Tokyo, Japan, with Eusuya noting she was the only Southeast Asian in the field.
In the same competition, she teamed up with Carlo Joshua Tangonan to place eighth in the mixed pair with 16.300 points, an outcome that Eusuya said the duo is keen on surpassing in the Cambodia Games.
The trio of Dolar, Tangonan and Lynette Ann Moreno wound up sixth out of eight squads in the trios event of the aerobics competition sanctioned by the International Gymnastics Federation, known by its French acronym FIG.
The other members of the national aero team are Christopher Daniel Quevedo, Enrico Ostia and Queenie Briones, who are joined by Hungarian coach Balazs Farkas and head coach Allena Rius.
Looming as the team to beat in the event is Vietnam, which bagged three of the five golds at stake when it hosted the Games last year, while Thailand took the other two mints.
Scheduled tomorrow is the men’s individual and trio events while the mixed pair, women’s individual and team events will be held on Sunday.
