PARIS. – Proper preparation leading to the right execution.
This is was what wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan will have in mind Thursday when he sees action in the men’s 100-meter T52 race of the 17th Paralympic Games at the La Stade de France here.
Expecting fair weather, Mangliwan’s campaign got bogged down by rainy conditions last week as he finished eighth among the finalists in the men’s 400-meter T52 event.
“Ayaw ko pong mag-dahilan, pero talagang nahirapan po kami sa ulan. Naging madulas ‘yung push ring kaya naging mahirap mag-propel ng wheelchair. Hindi naging maganda ‘yung contact,” he explained. “Kaya nag-handa na kami rain or shine.”
He admitted the sprint race was not his strongest suit, but vowed to do his best to advance to the finals of his last event here.
“Hindi po talaga ‘yan ang forte ko, pero ang basic target po namin nila coaches Joel (Deriada) and Bernard (Buen) ay maka-qualify sa finals,” said Mangliwan on the eve of his event scheduled at 9:01 p.m. Thursday (3:01 p.m. Friday in Manila) with the finals at 11:32 a.m. (5:32 p.m.) the next day.
He set a personal best of 18.65 seconds in bagging the silver medal in the same event in last year’s Hangzhou Asian Para Games, a marked improvement from his time of 20.08 seconds when he finished eighth in the Tokyo edition of the elite meet three years ago.
“We realize that Jerrold is the underdog in this event so our first goal is to qualify to the finals, then think of our next game plan later,” Deriada said.
Mangliwan, the national team skipper appearing in his third straight Paralympic Games, was determined to go the extra mile to make Pinoys proud, saying: “Eto na ang huling event ko dito sa Paris kaya dapat lang na pagbutihin ko alang-alang sa karangalan ng ating bansa.”
