SPAIN-BASED John Cabang Tolentino sustained his bid for a slot in the Paris Olympic Games last Saturday, clocking 13.49 seconds to rule the men’s 110-meter hurdles in the 26th Trofeo de Aletismo Ciudad de Salamanca Memorial Carlos Gil Perez in Salamanca, Spain.
Running in lane 3, Tolentino held off Spanish hurdlers Tejas Shirse and Daniel Cisneros Alba, who clocked 13.59 and 13.69 seconds, to place second and third, respectively, to win the closely fought race.
Tolentino, a Filipino who was born and raised in Spain by adoptive Spanish parents while he was young, earned precious World Athletics Olympic qualifying ranking points and entered the meet ranked No. 28 in the ratings.
The top 40 in the ratings list at the end of the July 7 cut-off date will be eligible to compete in the Paris Summer Games.
Dipping in the ratings of the women’s 400-meter hurdles were Lauren Hoffman and Robyn Brown, who were down to Nos. 31 and 43, respectively, as well as six-time Southeast Asian Games 400-meter hurdles king Eric Cray, who was at No. 48.
A total of 40 quota places are up for grabs in the event.
Tokyo Olympian Kristina Knott was No.42 in the women’s 200-meter rankings with 48 slots up for grabs.
All four track and field athletes will continue competing in various overseas competitions in the remaining weeks of the qualifying period in their drive to represent the country in the quadrennial global sports showcase, according to athletics Secretary General Jasper Tanhueco.
Middle-distance runner Michael “Mico” del Prado, son of track legend Isidro del Prado, timed 47.13 seconds to bag the silver medal in the men’s 400-meter run in the Taiwan Athletics Open at the Taipei Municipal Stadium in Taiwan.
Del Prado earlier set a season and personal best of 46.83 seconds in the heats.
