Cray rips PH mark, bags silver

Eric Cray. INQUIRER FIle Photo

ERIC Cray is getting better at what he does best with the Rio de Janeiro Olympics just a few months away.

The Filipino-American hurdler pocketed a silver medal in the Seiko Golden Grand Prix at the Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki, Japan, on Sunday that reset his own national mark.

Cray, the first Filipino qualifier for Rio, placed second with a time of 49.07 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles, his pet event, to smash the old Philippine mark of 49.12 he accomplished at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

According to Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico, Cray is now ranked 23rd in the world with his new record of 49.07, the fifth fastest clocking on the global level. Keisuke Nazawa of Japan won the gold in 48.67 while another Japanese, Yuki Masushita, timed 49.10 for the bronze.

The latest performance of the Austin, Texas-based Cray was a marked improvement from his fifth-place effort  (50.06) in the same event last year.

Juico said Cray vies in the Cayman Islands on Saturday where he qualified for the Rio Games with a time of 49.40 in the 400m hurdles last year.

“There will be no 400m hurdles in Cayman this year, so Eric will compete only in the 100m,” said Juico.

Cray earned the title “fastest man of Southeast Asia” after topping the event in the SEAG last year in 10.25 seconds, which was recorded as the new Games record.

Meanwhile, Filipino-American Kayla Richardson, the women’s 100m champion in the SEA Games, is reportedly a few tenths of a second off the qualifying standard and has a clear shot at the Olympics, Juico said.

Aside from Cray, long-jumper Marestella Torres-Sunang has already qualified through the Universality principle while pole vaulter EJ Obiena is making progress to meet the Olympic standard in time for the Aug. 5 to 21 Summer Games.

“Having four athletes taking part in Rio will certainly give Philippine track and field a big boost,” said Juico.