PH hurdler Cray gets confirmation to race in Rio

Eric Cray. INQUIRER FIle Photo

Eric Shauwn Cray had broken his personal record many times over and remains on track for a potential Olympic medal performance.

The Filipino-American hurdler has been well rewarded for his efforts, finally getting the confirmation of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Thursday to race in the men’s 400m hurdles of the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics.

IAAF senior competitions manager Carlo de Angeli affirmed the participation of Southeast Asia’s fastest man in an e-mail sent to the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association, the local governing body for athletics.

“The (Olympic) standard for the men’s 400mH is 49.40 (seconds) and the athlete’s best result in the qualification period is 48.98s,’’ said De Angeli.

“This result is already in our database and on our website. The athlete is therefore qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games,’’ added the head of IAAF competitions department.

Cray, the 100m dash champion and 400m hurdles record-holder in the SEA Games, pocketed a silver medal in the recent IAAF World Challenge in Madrid, Spain after clocking 48.98 seconds that shattered his own national record of 49.07 in the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Kawasaki, Japan two months ago.

The 27-year-old who was raised by a Filipino mother in San Antonio, Texas met the Olympic mark as early as middle of 2015 when the three-time All-American timed 49.12 in the Cayman Invite in Cayman Islands.

Since then, Cray erased his personal and national record twice in the Seiko Golden Grand Prix and IAAF World Challenge last week.