Victoria Bossong overcame two minor struggles as she made it to the finals of the US NCAA Division 1 Track and Field Championships Eastern Championships’ first round.
Battling food poisoning days before her race, along with a painful wisdom tooth, the 21-year-old Bossong recovered in time, finishing second in the women’s 800-meter heats with a clocking of two minutes and 4.01 seconds.
Her time surpassed the recognized Philippine national record of Jessica Barnard at 2:06.75 during the 2016 Portland Track Festival in Oregon.
Bossong, a third year Harvard University student-athlete, was behind heat 1 top qualifier Lauren Tolbert of Duke University, who made it in 2:03.82.
“Going into heats, the main goal was to survive and advance. I made sure to situate myself in the front part of the pack, and around 550m to go, I took off and kept it smooth,” said Bossong in an interview with the Manila Standard.
Cassandra Williamson of the University of West Virginia also qualified to the finals in 2:04.25.
Two weeks ago, Bossong ran in the Philippines for the first time in the 2024 ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships and took the gold in the women’s 800-meter run in Pasig, days before her birthday.
Despite finishing in one of her slow times this season, Bossong reached the finish line at two minutes and 9.56 seconds to earn the gold medal.
Bossong, whose mom Annie is a dentist who traces her roots in Puerto Galera in Mindoro Oriental, is seeking to someday join the Philippine national team, and probably hit the entry standard in the Paris Olympics during her campaign this year.
Bossong plans to represent the Philippines in future international meets once she gets a Philippine passport as soon as she hits the Olympic entry standard in the women’s 800-meters.