Heart of a champ

No matter how much pain he felt or how fatigued he was, Aries Toledo never considered surrendering his quest for SEA Games decathlon glory. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ—There is a reason why the decathlon winner of the Olympics is dubbed the “World’s Greatest Athlete.” The contest combines 10 track and field disciplines into a grueling two-day competition that pushes each competitor way beyond his limits.

Aries Toldeo was at the edge of his limits in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Trailing by nine points at one point, Toledo had one thing in mind: To race until his last ounce of strength.

“For my school, my town and country, that was my overpowering resolve,” said Toledo, who hails from Cuyapo town in Nueva Ecija province.

The final event was the 1,500-meter race at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. Suttisak Singkon of Thailand, the 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold medalist, was the man to beat.

When Toledo finished the race, he dropped to the ground due to exhaustion—it was a familiar sight during the decathlon event, Toledo being whisked away by his team because he was too spent to walk out of the arena on his own. This time, he had to wait a little longer, wanting to know if all his efforts were good enough.

“Then I heard the public announcement, ‘winner of the gold in decathlon, the Philippines.’ I cried out with joy,” Toledo said.

He amassed 7,433 points, better than Suttisak’s second-place finish of 6,411 points. His feat also erased the national record of 7,126 points Jesson Ramil Cid logged at the Thailand Open in June.

Sportswriters who covered the event hailed Toledo, a SEA Games rookie, for helping breathe life into a gasping Philippine campaign. Two days later, Toledo also won the bronze in the 4x400m relay along with Archand Bagsit, Edgardo Alejan, and Michael del Prado.

Born in Cuyapo, Toledo, 23, said his first love was basketball and that he wanted to become a soldier. But in grade school, he was tapped to compete in track events in regional meets.

“Nobody bested me then in running events. Sabi ng teacher ko mabilis daw ako at walang tatalo sa akin (My teacher told me that I was fast and nobody could beat me in the races),” Toledo said.

At CLSU, Toledo enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Fisheries (BSAF) program. But he shifted to Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE) hoping to chase a noble goal.

“I decided I will spend my life teaching sports to young people,” said Toledo. His father, Arturo, was a tricycle driver while his mother, Rizalina, was a homemaker. The family had to raise money for his schooling and that of his two younger brothers.

Chasing his education and running for finish lines found a home in CLSU, which gave him an athletic scholarship.

For now, money won’t be much of a problem for Toledo. He will get around P400,000 from the government as an incentive for his SEA Games finish. He was also given a cash award by CLSU and the Cuyapo town government.

And the decathlete who was always winded at the end of his events in Kuala Lumpur can finally get some much-needed rest here at home.