Philippine bets delivered one gold, three silver and three bronze medals in the 79th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships held recently at the Singapore Sports Hub National Stadium in Singapore.
University of Perpetual Help System Dalta standout Francis Medina won the lone gold medal for the Philippines when he ruled the men’s 400m hurdles in 51.30 seconds in the tournament sanctioned by the Asian Athletics Association.
Medina outclassed 2015 Singapore Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist Andrian Andrian of Indonesia who settled for silver after crossing the finish line in 51.52 seconds while Kingkeo Inthavong of Laos finished third with 56.09 seconds.
The 21-year-old Medina bagged two gold medals in the 2017 National Open Track and Field Championships held in Isabela in April. He topped the 400m hurdles and was also part of the men’s 4x400m relay champion team.
For winning the gold, Medina is now assured of a spot in the national team bound for the 2017 SEA Games scheduled in August in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
On the other hand, Immuel Camino, Rhea Joy Sumalpong and Riezel Buenaventura won silver medals in their respective events.
Camino finished second in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase (9:30.70) behind gold medalist Chou Ting-Yin of Taiwan (9:11.36). He finished fifth overall in the 5,000m run (15:58.24).
Sumalpong got her silver in the women’s discus throw (43.29m) while Buenaventura took the runner-up honors in the women’s pole vault (3.40m).
The bronze medal winners were Anfernee Lopena in the men’s 100m dash (10.73), Manuel Lasangue Jr. in the men’s high jump (2.09m ) and Benigno Marayag in the men’s long jump (7.09m).
Former SEA Games gold medalist Rosie Villarito fell short in the women’s javelin throw, finishing fifth with a 44.18-meter while Narcisa Atienza also failed to post a podium finish in three events (fifth in women’s high jump, 1.65m; sixth in 100m hurdles, 15.69 seconds; and sixth in shot put, 11.69m).(E. Noguera, MT)