MAJORITY of the national track and field athletes based in the United States are committed to compete for the country in the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games next year, according to athletics chief Terry Capistrano.
“We have been talking to them for the past few months and they said they would compete in the Cambodia SEA Games,” said Capistrano, who took over as president of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association after Philip Ella Juico stepped down last June.
Capistrano said he had already talked to sprinter Kristina Knott and pole vaulter Natalie Uy, who were unable to see action in the 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games last May due to injuries, as well as Eric Shawn Cray and William Morrison.
All four emerged as gold medalists in the 30th SEA Games when the Filipino athletic campaigners had one of their best outings, hauling 11 gold, 8 silver and 8 bronze medals in finishing third overall in the eight-nation meet held at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac three years ago.
Cray and Knott had a second mint when they powered the national squad to victory in the 4×100-meter mixed relay together with Eloiza Luzon and Anfernee Lopena.
Italy-based pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena, hurdler Clinton Bautista, decathlete Aries Toledo, javelin thrower Melvin Calano, heptathlete Sarah Dequinan and marathon runner Cristine Hallasgo also struck gold in the Games three years ago.
But the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the track and field squad, with all of the locally-based athletes only able to train intensively in November last year due to the numerous lockdowns enforced in the country.
They also had only one overseas exposure, the Singapore Open, just before the Vietnam SEA Games, while their US-based counterparts were also hampered in their build-up, resulting in a paltry 5-7-7 medal tally in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
Capistrano said this was the major reason why he began interacting with the US-based athletes so they can bolster the country’s athletics campaign in the 32nd SEA Games set from May 5 to 16, 2023 in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and the northwestern city of Siem Reap.
“We need to show our US-based athletes our support and that they are not disconnected.
We are all part of Team Philippines,” Capistrano said. “Our campaign in Cambodia must be a complete team effort. We understand the importance of winning five, six to 10 golds there in helping our country’s overall drive.”
He added that local-based athletes are not being overlooked, revealing that 10 to 15 of them will see action in the Thailand Open meet next month.
