MAJORITY of United States-based athletes arrived over the weekend and will join the national track and field squad leaving today for the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh to see action in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games formally opening at the Morodok Techno National Stadium this Friday.
“The Richardson twins Kayla and Kyla, Robyn Brown, pole vaulters Elijah Cole, Natalie Uy and Alyanna Nicolas, Umajesty Brown and Jason Cabang arrived last Sunday while shot putter Willie Morrison III has been here since May 25,” athletics secretary general Edward Kho said.
Kho said that five-time men’s 400-meter hurdles SEA Games champion Eric Shawn Cray, two-time SEA Games men’s pole vault king Ernest John Obiena, and sprinter Kristina Knott will travel to Cambodia separately before the track and field competition unfolds on May 8.
“EJ will be arriving on May 7, compete the next day, and then head back to resume his competition in Europe,” Kho said of the athlete based in Formia, Italy.
Cray, Morrison, Kayla Richardson and Obiena accounted for four of the five gold medals the country won in athletics in the Vietnam SEA Games last year, with homegrown bet Clinton Kingsley Bautista accounting for the other one in the men’s 110-meter hurdles.
Kho said the athletics bets will have a one-day rest before they resume training at the Morodok Techno National Stadium oval on May 6.
The Cambodia Games athletics action actually unfolds this Saturday with two events — the marathon and 20-kilometer walk — in the shadows of the famous Angkor Wat temples in the province of Siem Reap, 581 kilometers, or a five-hour drive, northwest of Phnom Penh.
Cristine Hallasgo, the 2019 Philippine Games marathon queen, and former Milo marathon champ Richard Salano will banner the country’s bid in the women’s and men’s marathon.
Besides the men’s pole vault, nine other finals will be held on May 8 — the men’s and women’s 200-meter sprints, men’s and women’s 1,500-meter races, women’s 5,000-meter race, women’s hammer throw, men’s javelin throw and the 4×400-meter mixed relays.
The Nationals are keen on surpassing the five gold and 14 bronze medals the country garnered in the Vietnam edition of the SEA Games last year, with national head coach Jojo Posadas targeting eight to 10 mints should everything work according to plan.
