GTK army runs out of luck, settles for 8 golds

HANOI, Vietnam (Via Globe Telecom) — Athletics chief Go Teng Kok could not sleep the whole night Thursday when his three gold medal bets failed to deliver.

"I am sad and happy," said Go after Allan Ballester clinched the RP tracksters’ eighth and last gold with a win in the marathon.

Go had predicted his wards could win at least 10 gold medals and 12, if they are lucky.

The seven other gold medal winners were John Lozada in the 1,500m, Eduardo Buenavista in the 10,000m, Ernie Candelario (400m), Lerma Bulauitain (long jump), Danilo Fresnido (javelin throw), Arnel Ferrera (hammer throw) and Rene Herrera (3,000m steeplechase).

"Naubusan kami ng luck," he said, referring to losses in the 800m by Lozada, the 5,000m by Buenavista and the 4X400m relay by his crack 400m runners.

"The loss of Lozada in the 800m was the result of foul play, pero ang pagkatalo sa 5,000 m at 4x400 ay dahil sa kakulangan ng diskarte," he said.

Lozada lost in the 800m Thursday when a Vietnamese, who eventually gave Vietnamese a 1-2 finish, stepped on the rear of his right shoe, forcing Lozada to complete the last 150 meters with his heel sticking out of the instep.

Then came Buenavista’s third place finish in the 5,000 m run.

"Hindi siya dapat tumakbo sa 3000m steeplechase noong Monday, pero ginusto niya. I cannot make decisions for my athletes — I entrust this to my coaches. But I think he should not have competed in steeplechase because of his injury," said Go.

Buenavista was suffering a recurring hamstring injury the last two years, forcing him out of the 3,000m steeplechase after winning it in the 2001 SEA Games.

The injury eventually took its toll on Buenavista, who was still nursing the injury during the 5,000m race.

Go also said Jimar Aing, a 400m specialist, was advised against competing in the 200m run, where the Filipino eventually finished fourth. The fatigue factor affected the performance of Aing in the 4x400m relay where he is the second fastest after Candelario. The team finished second.

"Hindi ako makatulog nang matalo tayo sa tatlong event," said Go.

"Actually, hindi mali ang projections natin — tama lahat kung nag-concentrate lang ang mga atleta sa dalawang event na ito," said Go.

Still, the Filipino tracksters finished as the winningest in the Philippine contingent with eight golds, surpassing the seven-gold-medal feat in 2001.