Olympics: Torres gets Patafa nod

MARESTELLA Torres AP FILE PHOTO

MARESTELLA Torres, the country’s long jump queen, is on her way to a third straight trip to the Olympics.

The Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association yesterday nominated Torres for the coming Summer Games in Rio De Janeiro after the current Southeast Asian Games record-holder had proven herself worthy in previous performances.

“We’ve already informed the IAAF that Marestella is our choice,” said Patafa president Philip Ella Juico.

Torres, a former Asian women’s champion, ruled her pet event in the recent track and field National Open with a 6.60-meter leap, her best effort in over two years, but still fell short of the 6.70-meter Olympic qualifying standard.

Once the IAAF confirms Patafa’s request for a universality or quota place for Torres, who also carried the national colors in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, she will join Filipino-American Eric Cray and four other Filipino athletes in Rio.

The Philippine Olympic Committee, however, is getting a little bit concerned on the status of Cray, who doesn’t have an official confirmation yet from the IAAF, track and field’s world governing body.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” countered Juico. “The IAAF is just gathering all the qualifiers and will announce it altogether.”

Juico said the IAAF would announce all qualified track and field athletes on July 12 to 14.