Cielo seals golden treble; Adeline still unbeatable

CieloHonasan (left) sprints her way to the 100m gold. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/JANNETH TENORIO

KUALA LUMPUR—Cielo Honasan completed her goal of sweeping the sprint golds while Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta proved she is peerless in her event as the Philippines rode another medal blitz Thursday in the Asean Para Games here.

A day after a sparkling eight-gold run, the Filipinos collected five more golds to hike their total to 16.

The 15-year-old Honasan ruled the 400-meter race for T44 and T45 combined, clocking 63.35 seconds to add to her victories in the century dash and the 200m. Honasan turned teary-eyed after crossing the finish, lying on her back at the track in a mix of euphoria and exhaustion.

“I just couldn’t control my emotions, that’s why I cried,” said Honasan, whose smashing victory turned the polio victim who competed in the Palarong Pambansa into the newest face of the Philippines’ Para Games campaign.

For a while, Dumapong-Ancheta had been the poster athlete for the country in Para events. And on Thursday she proved why anew.

Dumapong-Ancheta, one of the Filipino pioneers in this event, obliterated the powerlifting field when she copped the over 86kg gold with a lift of 116 kilograms.

Dumapong-Ancheta could have broken her record of 118 kg but opted not to attempt anymore knowing she had achieved what she hoped for.

“I just want the gold, nothing else,” said the 43-year-old Dumapong-Ancheta, the country’s first Paralympic medal winner after taking home a bronze in Sydney 17 years ago.

So dominant was Dumapong-Ancheta that her fellow podium finishers were way off her mark. Indonesia’s Sriyanti and Malaysia’s Sharifah Raudzah Binti could only muster 105 kg and 95 kg, respectively.

The other three gold medalists for the day were three-wheeled sprinter Prudencia Panaligan, wheelchair-bound thrower Cendy Asusano and blind thrower Rosalie Terrefiel.

Panaligan nailed gold No. 15 after ruling the 200m for T53/54 in 33.46 seconds.