Altitude training up for nat’l tracksters

Members of the crack Philippine track and field team that won seven gold medals in the Thai Open will undergo altitude training at the Teacher’s Camp in Baguio City in their run-up to the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur in September.

Track and field chief Go Teng Kok made the announcement after the team’s arrival from Bangkok where they won seven gold medals on top of six silvers and six bronzes to finish second to Thailand in the Thailand Open track and field championships.

Go also said the Philippine Sports Commission has already made the Project: Gintong Alay sports training camp in Baguio City available for the national athletes, although he added that his wards will not be ready for training at Pines City until June after the Milo open track and field championships in Manila.

"Chairman Tuason is impressed by our performance in the Thailand Open so he allowed us to use the training camp in Baguio to prepare for the SEAG," said Go.

Among those who will train in Baguio starting June 5 are Sydney Olympians Eduardo Buenavista and John Lozada, both double-gold medalists in the annual Thai meet.

The 22-year-old Buenavista won the gold medals in the 3,000-m and 5,000-m steeplechase while Lozada copped his in the 800-m and 1,500-m runs.

The other athletes expected to join the group are Lerma Bulauitan, another Sydney Olympic veteran, long jumper Joebert Delicaño, sprinter Ernie Candelario, marathoners Allan Ballester, Roy Vence and Christabel Martes, decathlete Fidel Gallenero, pole vaulter Emerson Obiena and new sensation Geralyn Amandoron.

The 22-year-old Amandoron, a native of Delaguete, Cebu, drew raves when she became the first Filipino to surpass the 50-meter mark in the javelin throw with a new mark of 51 meters, shattering Erlinda Lavandia’s 17-year-old record of 49.24 in bagging the gold in the Thai Open.