THE country’s top track and field stars of yesteryears get to showcase their skills anew today in the NMSAAP Masters Athletic Meet at the Ilagan Sports Complex in Ilagan, Isabela.
They are bannered by former Asian and Southeast Asian Games long jump queen Marestella Torres-Sunang, 42, who still holds the national standard of 6.72 meters set when she ruled the Kazakhstan Open in 2016 that earned her a third straight and last Olympic ticket to the 2016 Rio Summer Games.
Also competing is national field coach Arniel Ferrera, who reigned supreme in the men’s hammer throw in four straight SEA Games — 2003 (Vietnam), 2005 (Philippines), 2007 Thailand) and 2009 (Laos).
Likewise competing is javelin thrower-turned-national coach Danilo Fresnido, a two-time SEA Games champion who bagged a gold medal in the 2019 World Masters Athletic Championships in Malaga, Spain.
Former national high jumper Sean Guevarra, credited for training SEA Games decathlon champions Jesson Ramil Cid and Aries Toledo, is also donning his spiked shoes to compete in the one-day event organized by the National Masters Seniors Athletic Association of the Philippines.
Former Gintong Alay products Arnel and Perla Lobos will also compete in the event serving as the appetizer to the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships kicking off tomorrow that is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Ilagan city government led by Mayor Josemarie Diaz at the same venue.
Supported by CEL Logistics, the four-day meet organized by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association has drawn athletes from Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia and serves as the last national team tryouts for the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games in May.
