Extreme summer weather conditions will most likely put the staging of the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships 2024 at a much earlier morning schedule.
With summer temperatures expected to go as high as 36*C by midday on May 8, morning events could be pushed back and held starting at 5:30 a.m. at the Philsports Oval in Pasig City.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field secretary general Jasper Tanhueco said they are considering this option, with around 1,255 athletes now registered to see action in the five-day meet.
“This is the reason why we moved it earlier because of the weather. We expected a lot of participants. ” explained Tanhueco, adding that this is the Philippine Open’s biggest turnout to date.
With pole vault star Ernest John Obiena absent, national athletes based here and abroad will make their presence felt in the five-day meet, which will have World Athletic points, Olympic qualification slots and ranking points at stake.
And this starts with the 26 gold medals at stake on opening day, with four on the line in the morning.
National team members Richard Salano starts off hostilities in the men’s 5,000-meter when he seeks out the gold medal against Fil-American bet Yacine Guermali.
Golds will also be disputed in the morning events of the women’s discus throw, the girls under-18 shotput and men’s long jump.
The national marks in the outdoor events of the men’s 1500-meters and 5000-meters are now under Guermali’s name since 2021 and he is expected to come up with a lower time as he competes against Salano.
Guermali, along with Fil-American standout Lauren Hoffman are among 12 athletes who will be coming from the United States to compete.
The 24-year-old Guermali, a Fil-Morrocan student athlete who just graduated from Gonzaga University in the United States, will be among the first batch of Fil-Heritage expected to arrive this weekend.
Hoffman, already a part of the national team and will seek out the gold medals at stake in women’s 100 meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles, will be around later next week.
Harvard student-athlete Victoria Bossong will be here early next week, as she seeks to finalize the details of her bid to officially represent the Philippines in international meets, when she joins the women’s 400-meter and 800-meter action.
Angel Frank will aim for podium finishes in the women’s 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter categories, while pole vaulters Elijah Cole and Alyanna Nicolas will mix it up with a younger set of rivals like Enzo Sison and Audrey Agcaoili.
Newbies like Sidney Yap (hammer throw), AJ Rickets (5000 meters, 10,000 meters) and Miles Mingo (200 meters) will also be there.
Obiena will be in Chula Vista, California for the next two months, to first get ready for the Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 19, and later join six other meets before the Paris Olympics.
