THE Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association is setting up a separate criteria for overseas athletes, including Italy-based Ernest John Obiena, and locally-based bets in forming the national team for the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games in May.
“The criteria for our Fil-heritage athletes is the gold medal in the last Vietnam SEA Games while those based here will be the bronze,” Patafa secretary general Edward Kho said of the policy set up by the Patafa board led by president Terry Capistrano.
“The rationale behind this is that since you have better training and more competitions overseas, especially for those in the US, your standards ought to be higher so you are expected to hit the gold-medal time or distance in the last Vietnam SEA Games,” Kho stressed.
He said the qualifying guidelines will be applied during the National Open Track and Field Championships scheduled March 21 to 26 at the Ilagan City Sports Complex in Ilagan, Isabela.
As much as possible, Kho said all of the current Fil-Am members of the national team as well as those aspiring to join the national squad to the Cambodia SEA Games should see action in what will serve as the final qualifying meet for the regional games.
Aside from Obiena, who now calls Formia, Italy his second home and regularly competes in the European circuit, others expected to see action in the National Open are US-based hurdler Eric Shawn Cray, sprinters Kristina Knott and twin siblings Kayla and Kyla Richardson, pole vaulter Natalie Uy and shot putter Willie Morrison III.
Newly-appointed national head coach Jojo Posadas is okay with the criteria set by the local athletics body, although he said he preferred that those based in the US be allowed to meet the criteria through World Athletics-sanctioned competitions there.
“If our Fil-Ams can continue competing in the US and meet the gold-medal criteria of the last Vietnam SEA Games there before Cambodia, perhaps this would be better for them,” Posadas said. “Patafa might be able to save money if this is done.”
With just barely four months of training left before the Cambodia Games, Kho and Posadas said the national team target is to surpass five gold, seven silver and 14 bronze medals the country won in the Vietnamese edition of the regional meet.
This was much less than the 11 gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals that Pinoy campaigners garnered during the 30th SEA Games at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac in 2019.
Posadas said his marching orders was to motivate and train the national standard-bears in surpassing the Vietnam haul “and we hope to bring home at least seven golds and up from Cambodia, which I think is feasible given the time we have to train for the event.”
Locally-based national athletes returned to actual training at the Philsports Complex oval in Pasig City yesterday.
Posadas said that majority of the Fil-Am campaigners and a sprinkling of local athletes will have their first tune-up competition in the 9th Asian Indoor athletic meet set Feb. 10-12 in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan.
