Marestella eyes 4th Olympic stint

Marestella Torres-Sunang Photo by ROMY HOMILLADA / INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Long-jump queen Marestella Torres-Sunang will explore a territory no Filipino athlete had gone before by seeking a fourth straight appearance in the Olympics.

“Right now, our focus is to prepare for the Southeast Asian Games. But if my body responds well and my performance gets better, why not?” said Sunang in Filipino, who competed in the quadrennial Summer Games since 2008 in Beijing.

She already shares the spotlight with Olympic weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz as the only Filipino athletes who played in three consecutive Olympics. Both could reset that record once they qualify to the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Meanwhile, organizers of the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games announced Wednesday that the closing rites of the event will be moved to Aug. 30, a day earlier than scheduled, because it will coincide with the Islamic festival Hari Raya Haji. —WITH A REPORT FROM AFP