SAN Jose Buenavista, Antique—Elma Muros, the country’s most decorated long jumper, will carry the torch while local pride and many-time national tennis champion Marian Capadocia will light the cauldron in the opening ceremonies of the Palarong Pambansa’s 60th edition on Sunday.
As part of the opening rites, newly acquired fighter jets of the Philippine Air Force will make a flyby to salute the guest of honor, President Duterte.
Army skydivers will descend from the skies in an aerial display of synchronized acrobatic formations.
Antique Gov. Rhodora “Dodod” Cadiao has come up with a spectacle that is a blend of old culture and the magic of new technology, and of bold imagination with the best of the Palaro tradition.
The 18 regional delegations will march off from several directions at the newly-renovated Binirayan Sports Comple.
They will converge into an opening extravaganza, which will be made memorable by cultural dances to be performed by the famed “Tutusan Tribe” from the island-municipality of Caluya.
Davoena Mea Gey Ninura, who came up with one of the most memorable performances last year, will definitely be back to defending the secondary girls’ 3000-meter run honors.
She is expected to meet old rival Jie Anna Calis and fight it out for the gold medal again.
Calis, who is from Misamis Oriental, has taken up a scholarship with the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and Ninura will now compete for the first gold medal at the start of the 2017 Palarong Pambansa on Monday here.
If Calis challenges Ninura and wins, she will give the National Capital Region its first gold medal for the weeklong meet, organized by the Department of Education and the Province of Antique.
A victory by Ninura will not only allow her to retain the crown, she will give its first medal for the day.
Her event is one of seven gold medals at stake in the opening events of the athletics meet, which gets going at the Binarayan Sports Complex track stadium.
Among the seven medals that will be disputed in the start of hostilities are the top honors in the secondary boys’ javelin throw, secondary boys’ long jump, the secondary boys’ javelin throw, elementary girls’ shot put, elementary boys’ triple jump and elementary boys’ shot put.
Last year, Ninura and Calis were best remembered when they fought it out for the gold medal in the secondary girls’ 3000-meter run for the third time in three years.
Ninura, then a 10th grader at Capatagan National High School, won for the first time over Calis, and she broke the national junior record at the Bicol University-Albay Sports Complex oval in 10 minutes, and 3.4 seconds
Her effort smashed the 36-year-old record which Rosalinda Catulong established in the 1980 National Open in 10:09.95.