ALTHOUGH he just returned to serious training early this year, Fil-Am Willie Morrison III has no intention of yielding his men’s shot put title in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games, more so now that his emerging rival for the gold is no other than compatriot John Albert Mantua.
“Yes, I have every intention of defending my title and winning the gold again in Vietnam,” said Morrison, who won two golds in the men’s discus throw and shot put in the Philippine Athletics Championships at the Philsports Complex track oval in Pasig last week.
Morrison was relegated to runner-up honors in the Singapore Open two weeks ago with a throw of 16.61 meters, way behind Mantua, who had a personal best of 17.33 meters to clinch the gold medal at the Singapore National Stadium.
Born in Bloomington, Indiana, the 6-foot-3 gentle giant avenged that defeat to the man mountain from Gen. Santos last Friday with a heave of 17.06 meters to the latter’s 16.88 meters in the competition organized by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association as the last tune-up event before the 31st Vietnam SEA Games.
“I am just happy that they are competing and they are able to figure out what they need to correct before the SEA Games competition and also happy that several of our athletes made personal bets. Theoretically, you should be very happy when somebody keeps on improving,” said athletics chief Philip Juico, who witnessed the performances of the athletes during the two-day meet.
“Of course, winning medals like gold, silver, bronze but you have to start somewhere and work your way up,” he added.
Instead of returning to the United States, Morrison headed straight to the country after the Singapore meet and has been training with Mantua in Baguio for over a week under the supervision of national field coach Arniel Ferrera, a four-time SEA Games champion in the hammer throw.
“The Baguio weather is fine; it’s cool up there. And it has been fun training with him (Mantua) there for the past week. It’s good to have somebody who is here with me who is close to (my level). It does push you a little bit,” he said.
Even with the challenge posed by Mantua, Morrison remained optimistic of retaining his shot put crown in Hanoi. He bagged the gold in his SEA Games debut in 2019 with a new SEA Games and national record of 18.38 meters at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.
