Fil-Spaniard hurdler John Cabang Tolentino came close to hitting the national record that he set last month.
The 21-year-old Tolentino clocked 13.7 seconds in the men’s 110-meter heats during Thursday morning’s action on Day 2 of the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Tolentino came within a fraction of off the 13.65 seconds clocking that he achieved in clinching the gold medal in record-breaking fashion in the Campeonato de Esukadi in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain last June 16.
Tolentino, nevertheless, qualified for the afternoon finals after placing sixth overall in the qualifiers.
Zhouyi Xu of China topped the heats with his 13.57 seconds showing, with Alyouha Yaquob tied in third with another Chinese, Ning Xiaohan at 13.62.
Last month Tolentino eclipses the national record of 13.78sec which Clinton Bautista in last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Bautista did not qualify for the finals with a clocking of 13.99 seconds.
Meanwhile, Maureen Schrijvers missed a slot in the finals of the women’s 400-meter run after she was disqualified due to lane infringement.
Genna Malapit settled for 13th place in the women’s javelin throw finals with her heave of 43.57 meters.
Marina Saito of Japan took gold with her 61.67-meter showing, with Shiying Liu of China taking the silver at 61.51 meters.
Lekamge Hatarabage of Sri Lanka took third with a personal best of 60.93 meters.