INQUIRER Sports

MARESTELLA TORRES rewarded the Philippines with its first gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championships in 22 years Tuesday by ruling the women?s long jump over a world-ranked Chinese in Guangzhou, China.

The back-to-back Southeast Asian Games champion, who is expected to win unchallenged again next month, sprang to a distance of 6.51 meters on her third try which survived the assault of World No. 9 Chen Ya Ling of China and Masumi Sachiko of Japan.

Chen settled for the silver medal with a leap of 6.28 meters on her very first jump. Sachiko later matched that effort for the bronze on her fifth attempt at the Guangzhou Stadium, site of next year?s Asian Games.

The last time the Philippines bagged a gold in the AAA was in 1987 when Lydia de Vega-Mercado pulled off a sprint double in Singapore.

?Today?s record is my season?s best. Actually this is just a warm-up for the Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December,?? said the 28-year-old Torres, who holds a personal best of 6.63m she achieved in Korea in 2005 when she won the silver medal.

Her winning leap this time was better than her 6.38m effort for the gold in the Vietnam Open early this year.

The SEAG record is 6.52m which Elma Muros-Posadas set in 1989.

?I thank Marestella for her accomplishment which proved once again that we can look forward to better things in Laos,?? said athletics chief Go Teng Kok, who promised no less than six athletics golds in Vientiane.