PARIS Olympics’ veteran Lauren Hoffman will be coming out of an eight-month layoff when she competes in the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships 2025.
Hoffman will once again try to make an impression with fellow Olympians Kristina Knott and John Tolentino-Cabang, when the meet gets going from May 1 to 4 at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.
The 26-year-old Hoffman will defend the crowns she won last year in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles.
Hoffman is expected to be in top form in the 400-meter hurdles, one of 19 final events on opening day Thursday.
She has gone on a long layoff since her stint at the Paris Olympics to recover from an achilles heel problem.
“It’s been an uphill battle with the achilles issues this year. But things are slowly trending upward. Season opener coming soon,” said Hoffman in a social media post.
The first gold medals of the meet will be given in the women’s open 10,000-meter walk and the men’s under-18, 5000-meter walk, to be held at early morning times of 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., respectively.
Over 800 athletes are expected to take part in the event, which also drew the athletes from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, India and Papua New Guinea.
Slots for the national team being formed for the coming Southeast Asian Games will be at stake.
Also, the podium finishers will also be considered for the country’s top under-18 athletes that will be sent to the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain in October.
Organizers said foreign entries will also go for points that are at stake as they try to qualify to the World Championships in Japan in September.