Meljun Sabidor couldn’t wait to carve a niche in an earnest effort to find his parents.
A door opened for Sabidor on Saturday after shattering the long-standing record in the secondary boys’ javelin at the Palarong Pambansa in Cebu City.
The 18-year-old from Sta. Maria, Davao Occidental hurled the spear to 59.90 meters at Cebu City Sports Center, tearing down the 59.18-m standard by Alleloid Lumabao of Ilocos that stood for 22 years.
“I was raised by my grandparents since I was five months old. My parents left me after they separated,” Sabidor tearfully shared in Filipino.
Driven by the strong need to finally meet his parents, Sabidor trained flat out to achieve his objective and will be rewarded P25,000 from Davao as incentive for striking the gold plus another P5,000 for resetting the record.
“My grandparents Basilia and Doroteo (Sabidor) are no longer working because they are old. They took good care of me and ensured I receive a proper education,” said Sabidor.
The Grade 11 from Basiawan National High School said part of the cash incentive will be spent on a cellphone for his grandparents.
“I won gold medals in the Araw ng Davao and Batang Pinoy, which got me here, and now I broke the record and won gold again,” said Sabidor, who dreams of throwing for the national team someday and competing in the Olympics.