UNDERSCORING its role and value as a platform for discovering athletic talents, the PATAFA weekly relays over the weekend produced a national record courtesy of Russel Je Ricaforte, who threw 54.14 meters in ruling the men’s discus throw at the Philsports track oval in Pasig.
Carrying the colors of Ateneo, the burly Ricaforte, 25, hurled the discus with all his might to shatter by more than two meters—equal to six feet 6.74 inches—the 34-year-old mark of 52.10 meters Fidel Repizo set in the 1991 Manila Southeast Asian Games.
Even more significantly, his throw surpassed the silver-medal feat of 51.89 meters of Thai KiadpradidSisai in the 2023 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games.
Ricaforte, however, will have to work doubly hard to match or surpass Malaysian veteran Irfan Shamsuddin’s gold-medal throw of 57.83 meters set in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh two years ago.
Philippine Athletics secretary general Jasper Tanhueco said the documents of Ricaforte are being processed with the Philippine Sports Commission for his inclusion in the national pool, and would also be considered for the PH squad to the 33rd Thailand SEA Games in December for setting the new national record.
He said the thrower will be joining the national team bannered by two-time SEA Games men’s shot put gold medalist Willie Morrison, who will see action in the Asian Throwing Championships set Aug. 21 to 22 in Mokpo, South Korea.
Also competing for the Philippines in the two-day meet are women’s discus thrower Daniela Daynata, fresh from her stint at the Chula Vista Elite Training Center in California, and javelin throwers Ana Espenilla and EvalynPalabrica.
The long-running Patafa weekly relays, organized by the local track and field body, are part of its development programs for the country’s athletes who aspire one day to represent the country in international play.
Meanwhile, the quartet of KharisPantonia, AnferneLopena, Clinton Bautista and Ronne Malipay clocked 41.06 seconds to bag the bronze medal in the men’s 4×100-meter relay in the XXXIV Qosanov Memorial in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Lopena timed 10.56 seconds in finishing sixth in the men’s 100-meter sprint finals while Pantonia clocked 47.63 seconds to place fourth in the men’s 400-meter race.
