JOHN Cabang Tolentino and Lauren Hoffman fortified their Olympic bids while Kristina Knott and Robyn Brown wheeled back into contention for the Paris Summer Games based on the latest World Athletics Qualifying rankings released last Wednesday.
Tolentino, who set a national record of 13.37 seconds when he ruled the men’s 110-meter hurdles in the last ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships, jumped to No. 25 in his pet event where 40 quota places are at stake.
Just .10 of a second off the Olympic entry standard of 13.2, the Spain-based runner will try to finally meet the grade when he sees action in the Seiko Golden Grand Prix this Saturday at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium in Japan.
Hoffman also made inroads in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and is now ranked No. 27. She could further when she sees action in the Los Angeles Grand Prix this Saturday (Sunday morning in Manila) at the Drake Stadium inside the University of California Los Angeles campus.
Her national mark of 55.72 seconds booked at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa last April is an eye-blink off the entry time of 54.85 seconds where 40 quota spots are also available.
Joining her back in the top 40 is Lauren Robyn Brown, who fell to No. 44 but is now at No. 35. She clocked 57.89 seconds early morning yesterday (Wednesday night in Europe) to finish second in the Canarias Invitational in Santa Cruz, Spain.
Seeing action in the same meet, Knott placed fifth (23.62) in the women’s 200-meter run where is now ranked No. 35.
Brown, the Asian women’s 400-meter hurdles champ, and Tokyo Olympic Games veteran Knott will also compete in the Barcelona International this Sunday (early Monday morning in Manila) in their drive to qualify for the Paris Summer Games.
“I am one of Brown’s great fans and any way FILAM Sports can assist her on her Olympic journey we are here to lend her a hand,” Bo Navarro, the co-founder of the group that has been supporting US-based athletes with Filipino ancestry to represent the Philippines in international competitions, said.
Also competing this Saturday (Sunday morning in Manila) is Eric Cray, who will take part in the Meeting National de Martinique on the French Caribbean Island, hoping to boost his No. 46 ranking.
