LAOAG. — Tapping able coaches in various disciplines and fielding athletes in all sports, Laoag City is keen on retaining the overall crown in the Region 1 Athletic Association meet set on March 10 to 16 in La Union, according to Laoag Mayor Michael Keon.
“We have been preparing our athletes ahead of time so our aim is to keep the overall championship in Laoag City,” said Keon in an interview over the weekend during the 3rd Sand Dunes Challenge held in Barangay La Paz.
With Keon, the country’s former sports czar as Project: Gintong Alay executive director during the time of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. calling the shots, Laoag City bets emerged on top of the heap for the first time in the regional meet with a glittering haul of 79 gold, 53 silver and 68 bronze medals.
They even outplayed Pangasinan 2 and the province of Ilocos Norte, which finished second and third with tallies of 61-49-56 and 52-68-58, respectively, out of 14 local government units in the meet serving as the qualifying competition for the Palarong Pambansa set from May 24 to June 1 in Ilocos Norte.
Laoag struck a gold mine in gymnastics with 25 mints, highlighted by the six-gold haul of Renze John Pasion in the men’s artistic gymnastics events, plus 12 in arnis, on top of 13 in track and field to place a strong second behind Ilocos Norte’s 15.
Laoag City sports coordinator Hipolito Salva said the city will field a contingent of 500 athletes combined in both elementary and secondary divisions in all the 28 sports calendared in the sportsfest.
Keon has spared no expense in hiring competent coaches not only in athletics but also in other sports while holding local competitions to build up the city’s campaigners for the coming meet.
For example, he has hired former national standouts Renato Unso and Erlinda Lavandia, both products of the Gintong Alay program, to head the coaching staff in track and field before adding former Gintong Alay athletics head coach Tony Benson of Australia to tweak the performance of the athletes.
“We won’t make any changes in the training regimen because that would be too late. Our aim, as it were, is for our pointers to serve as an icing on the take that can add a second or two to their performance,” said Benson, who is focusing on the middle distances.
Benson noted the potential of Merry Miles Sunga, who will make her debut in the Region 1 meet in the 800 and 1,500-meter races in the girls’ elementary division and was tops in the 5K girls’ division of the Sand Dunes Challenge.
“May pag-asa yang si Merry Miles to win both golds in the 800 and 1,500-meter runs, possibly maski sa Palarong Pambansa na gagawin sa Ilocos Norte sa Mayo,” said Unso, a former 400-meter runner, agreeing with Benson’s assessment.
Keon isn’t putting his eggs in a few baskets but aims to excel in other disciplines as well, which was why he held the 2nd Sepak Takraw Cup also over the weekend as a tune-up tournament for Laoag’s sepak takraw campaigners.
“Our aim in Laoag City is to develop our grassroots sports with good coaches, proper nutrition and hosting competitions,” stressed Keon, who is developing a multi-million peso sports center just outside downtown Laoag.
“Hopefully, we can continue with all of these projects once we get re-elected,” said Keon, who is running for his third and last term as mayor of the progressive city.
