NAYPYITAW—A new breed of tracksters is reviving excitement in Philippine athletics.
Decathlete Jesson Ramil Cid, hurdler Eric Cray, 400-meter specialist Christian Archand Bagsit and long-distance runner Christopher Ulboc are the newest PH toasts here after adding to the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association’s leading harvest of six golds so far in the 27th Southeast Asian Games.
Bagsit ruled his favorite event, the Filipino-American Cray easily topped the 400m hurdles, Ulboc won the 3000m steeplechase and Cid set a new national record in the decathlon.
“This is the new generation of athletes,” said Rene Herrera, who lost his bid for a sixth crown in the steeplechase to Ulboc.
“With hard training and discipline, they will go places,” added the 34-year-old Herrera, one of the region’s senior track and field aces.
“These veteran tracksters are our idols. We’re proud to continue what they have started,” said the 23-year-old Ulboc, the reigning UAAP champion from Far Eastern University.
Ulboc, whose best international finish was a bronze medal in the 2013 Singapore Open prior to the SEA Games, said he, Bagsit and Cid owed their success to the veterans.
“They taught us well and guided us to become what we are now,” added Ulboc.