DAVAO CITY—Imagine the accomplishments that Lheslie De Lima could pull off if she had a pair of shoes.
Despite running barefoot, the 15-year-old left everyone eating her dust to claim the first gold medal in the 2019 Palarong Pambansa Monday at the UP Mindanao track oval here.
“I just keep on training because the Palaro is a different level of competition,” said De Lima, an aspiring middle-distance runner from Baao, Camarines Sur.
The result was an impressive output in the secondary girls’ 3000m run with a clocking of 10 minutes and 22.42 seconds, beating Northern Mindanao’s Camila Tubiano, who timed 10:32.32 for the silver.
Lovely Cordinilla of Central Luzon completed the podium with a 10:38.52 run.
De Lima has two more events—the 800m and 1,500m run—where she also plans to run without a pair of running shoes.
“I’m fine running without shoes, I’ll try my best to win two more gold medals,” said De Lima, a Grade 9 student from Baao National High School.
Meanwhile, Princess Sheryl Valdez of Soccksargen earned the distinction as the first double-gold winner after seizing two in arnis, highlighted by her victory in the elementary girls’ creative anyo single baston.
International Master Daniel Quizon of Dasmariñas City, Cavite, showed his might in chess, sweeping all seven games to rule the boys’ blitz event.
Two more golds came Calabarzon’s way when Jersey Marticio (elementary girls) and Kylen Joy Mordido (secondary girls) won their blitz events.
De Lima also captured the first Palaro gold last year after winning the same event in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Algin Gomez of Ilocos region could have pulled off the first record-breaking performance of the Games featuring the best elementary and high school student athletes in the country.
After leaping to 7.55 meters for the gold in secondary boys’ long jump, Gomez’s effort was thumbed down by the technical officials as a record-smasher.
Gomez failed to shatter the record of Julian Reem Fuentes Ng (7.36m) of Cagayan region.
Officials from the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association explained that the feat of Fuentes had a much lower wind reading than the achievement of Gomez.
It was actually John Mike Leera of Northern Mindanao who eclipsed Ng’s record after registering 7.39m. Patrick Botabara of Southern Luzon secured the bronze with a 6.96m effort.
Medal-rich swimming will run for five days at the UP Mindanao pool after the centerpiece event was rescheduled for Tuesday.