PUERTO PRINCESA—Seventeen-year-old swimmer Alberto Amaro III, one of the most bemedalled athletes in the recent Palaro Pambansa, shared the limelight with Ilonggo trackster Franklin Catera, with record-shattering performances on Tuesday.
Amaro’s effort upped his collection of medals to four, while the 16-year-old Catera improved on his personal best in the men’s under-18 high jump on Day 3 of the 2024 Batang Pinoy national championships at the Ramon V. Mitra Sports Complex here.
Amaro, who had a perfect season with his seven-gold medal sweep in the 2024 Palarong Pambansa, grabbed two gold medals and shattered one of two meet records set during the straight-to-the-finals morning events at the Ramon V. Mitra Jr. Sports Complex.
A 12th grader from San Beda, Amaro took the 16-17 year old, 50-meter freestyle mint in 24.32 seconds, smothering the yearlong record of 24.53 seconds he set last December.
He now has three golds and a silver after beating Quintin Sabalante of Cebu City, also on Tuesday, after tapping the touch pad in 57.89 seconds.
Catera, who is from Tigbauan, in Iloilo, increased his best effort from 1.96 meters during the Cebu Palarong Pambansa last July to 1.98 meters, eclipsing Tarlac bet Brandon Zarzuela’s 1.93-meter showing last year.
Zarzuela went on to settle for the bronze, with the same 1.93 mark.
Meanwhile, Pasig leads the pack after collecting 36 golds, 19 silvers and 30 bronze medals as of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, with Quezon City (19-17-25) and Baguio City (18-22-21) in close second and third, respectively.
