The 22-year-old Amandoron, a native of Dalaguete, Cebu, bagged the country’s lone gold on the third day of competition with a heave of 51 meters, eclipsing the previous RP record of 49.24 set by Erlinda Lavadia during an RP-USSR dual meet in 1984.
Amandoron became the first Filipina to break to 50-meter barrier and this will surely serve her in good stead when she competes in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in September.
Thailand’s Chatwadee Suthorn won the SEAG gold in 1999 with a throw of 49.13 meters while Indonesia’s T. Ratnaningsih holds the record in the biennial meet at 51.10 meters.
Amandoron stands to receive a P5,000 incentive from the Philippine Sports Commission and a separate bonus from athletics chief Go Teng Kok for his record-breaking feat in this five-day event which drew athletes from 29 countries, including China.
Not as victorious as Amandoron was Mitchell Martinez, who finished fifth in the shot put event won by a Thai (17.38 meters).
The Filipino tracksters are here as part of their preparations for the 2001 Milo Open scheduled May 17 to 20 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, and the Kuala Lumpur SEAG. After the Milo Open, up next for the RP bets is the Malaysian Open in July.
The final day of competition promises to be a big one for the Filipinos who made their presence felt in their respective heats.
They are John Lozada, who won the country’s first gold last Thursday in the 1,500-m run, Lerma Balauitan, Maristella Torres and the 4 x 400-m team of Ernie Candelario, Kimar Aying, Abdul Rahim and Raphie Pilas-pilas.
Also expected to go all out Sunday are Allan Ballester, 2000 Sydney Olympics veteran Eduardo Buenavista and Christabel Martes, who will compete in the 5,000-m run.
After four days of action, the Philippines has four golds, five silvers and three bronze medals as it remained in track in surpassing last year’s medal haul of six golds, seven silvers and nine bronze medals.