Volleybelle wins kayak bronze

Leonora Escollante, a former national volleyball player who now heads the Philippine Amateur Athletes Federation Inc., became an instant canoe star as she won two bronzes in the ninth Asian Canoe Championships in Tehran, Iran.

Escollante finished only third place in both the women’s 1,000- and 500-meter touring kayak but gained big accolade for being just an accidental participant in the competitions.

"All-around ako sa competition. Ako ang athlete, coach, technical official at flag bearer sa opening ceremonies," said Escollante, whose initial intention was only to attend a coaching seminar but agreed to compete when egged on by competitors, coaches and officials.

Escollante was even under the weather when she won the two bronzes – the first medals won by a Southeast Asian in the Asian championships.

She clocked six minutes,13.788 seconds in finishing third behind Iran’s Frahnaz Amirshaghaghi (5:55.733) and Macau’s Leong Lai Sze Racy (6:09.002) in the 1,000 meters. In the 500 meters, she duplicated her third-place finish with a clocking of 2:56.631 behind Amirshaghaghi at 2:47.312 and Chinese Yingjie Zhou at 2:46.399.