TWENTY gold medals will be at stake in the opening events of the the 2016 Ayala-Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships when it fires off today at the Philsports oval in Pasig City.
Veteran athletes from neighboring countries and those who have won medals in the recent Southeast Asian Games will be among the challengers national and local athletes will battle in the three-day meet that lured over 1,000 participants.
“We have closed the registration at over a thousand athletes already, making this the biggest National Open in terms of attendance,” said Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association secretary general Renato Unso.
Rio Olympics-bound Eric Cray, winner of the SEA Games century dash gold, and Fil-American Brandon Thomas will try to find their spots in the men’s 100-meter heats, alongside Malaysian sprinters Maulani Diman and Eddie Edward Jr., and Singaporean Khairyl Amri Bin Tumadi.
The Malaysians will be led by Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian, who earned a silver medal in the men’s 110-meter hurdles of the 2015 SEA Games. He will try to hold his ground against Filipino bets Patrick Unso and Francis Medina.
Fil-American Caleb Stuart, who won the SEA Games hammer throw gold in record fashion, will face off with Jackie Wong Siew Cheer,a who settled for the bronze in their last showdown in Singapore.
Singapore’s Veronica Ferreira, bronze medallist in the 100-meter run, will try to assert herself in the absence of Fil-American Kayla Richardson, who begged off at the last-minute because of her studies back in the United States.
Ferreira’s clocking of 11.88 seconds in the last SEA Games could be the time to beat in the heats of the Open, which is presented by Ayala Corp., and also backed by Milo Nutri-up, Philippine Sports Commission, Foton Philippines, PCSO, Summit Natural Drinking Water, Appeton, Asics Watch, L TimeStudio and media partners Business Mirror, Business Mirror Health and Fitness Magazine and radio station Mellow 94.7. Peter Atencio
PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico said the National Open will help participants get ready not just for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but also for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia, the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, the 2019 SEA Games in Manila and the 2020 Olympics.
“The presence of foreign athletes from seven countries, including the Philippines, make this a world-class competition, where our athletes could learn a lot from in preparation for the bigger tournaments ahead,” said Juico of the field filled with tracksters from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guam, Brunei and Mongolia.
Among the locals expected to shine are Christopher Ulboc, who is seeking to improve on his personal best in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
Also joining the fray is Clinton Kingsley Bautista, who won two golds in 100-meter run and the 110-meter hurdles for Far Eastern University in the recent University Athletic Association of the Philippines meet.
He will be challenged by Jomar Udtohan, who broke the sprints records in the recent 91st National Collegiate Athletic Association athletics’ competition.