YOUNG obstacle national athlete Kaizen dela Serna tries her hand at a new sport, leading a seven-man national team that will see action in the sixth and final leg of the FIG Parkour Asian Tour that will be held this Wednesday and Thursday in front of the Quirino Grandstand at the Rizal Park.
A gold medalist in obstacle sport in the 2019 Philippine Southeast Asian Games and a silver medalist in the Cambodian SEA Games last May, Dela Serna, 21, will join a relatively young squad that will compete in the two-day event sanctioned by the International Gymnastics Federation, known by its French Acronym FIG.
The other members of the squad coached by Benjo Cabarroguis are Angelo Vicente, 21; John Dave Venico, 18; Justin Subito, 18; and Joseph Balbido, 24; for the men’s side and Diana Pitlo, 24; and Tin Buhawe, 32; for the women’s squad.
“Some of these athletes have been with the national team for almost two years. They will be competing in speed, freestyle and skill categories,” Cabarroguis said.
“While this is a friendly competition only, we’re expecting them to do their best in representing the country, have fun, make new friends and just be amazing at what they do,” he added.
The sport will debut as a medal sport in the Paris Olympic Games and the event, which is being jointly organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Obstacle Sports Federation, is meant to raise public awareness in Asia, according to GAP president Cynthia Carrion.
“With the POSF as our partners, we would like to thank the FIG and hope that parkour will attract a young generation of athletes in what promises to be an exciting and thrilling sport making its debut in the Paris Olympic Games,” Carrion said.
The GAP official said that FIG has four main objectives, namely, promote parkour to young people in the region, create a platform of engagement with the local community, foster friendship and solidarity among parkour athletes and support its development in the continent.
