Rowers live up to hype, win 2 golds

Benjamin Tolentino ruled the lightweight single scull and later teamed up with Jose Rodriguez in the men’s pair event to deliver two golds for Team Philippines in rowing in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in La Mesa Dam yesterday.

Tolentino and Rodriguez finished first in the men’s coxless pair, posting a time of 7:08.96, well ahead of their counterparts from Indonesia and Vietnam who captured the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

"We were focused at the start of the race. Even if we lose in the first thousand meters we’re going to take the last thousand and win. We’ve studied that from day one and we did that today," said Tolentino.

Indonesia had the lead at the halfway mark but Tolentino and Rodriguez poured it on and take the lead at the 1250m mark en route to the win and RP’s second gold medal in rowing.

"They were really expected to do well, we tried different combinations but we found that Benjie and Joe were the strongest, in fact they were both single scullers but we feel that they can also win as a pair," said Amateur Rowing Association of the Philippine president Nestor Ilagan.

Earlier, Tolentino won the first gold in the lightweight men’s single scull, finishing at 7:27.92, a good eight seconds ahead of silver medal winner Phan Thanh Hao of Vietnam and bronze winner Roozaimy Bin Omar of Singapore.

Tolentino, clutching his two children, Sydney and Athens — both named after the Olympic Games where he had taken part in, said he waited for his opponents to lose steam homeward where he made his move.

Women’s single scull’s Nida Cordova also did her part, as she added a bronze medal, placing third behind Pere Karoba of Indonesia and Elsie Lim Hiok of Singapore.

"Her bronze was unexpected since she was competing against stronger rowers, she’s also just a beginner so her win was really impressive," said coach Edgardo Maerina.

There are five more final races scheduled today. Tolentino will pair up with Alvin Amposta in the lightweight men’s double scull while Rodriguez will go solo as he competes in the men’s single scull. The Philippines will also see action in the lightweight women’s scull, coxless women’s pair and in the lightweight men’s four.