Barefoot marvel notches 4th gold

VIGAN, Ilocos Sur – Barefoot wonder Lany Cardona ruled the 1,500-meter run yesterday to match gymnast Mary Rose Castro of Bulacan’s four-gold medal romp in the Central Northern Luzon Qualifying Games of the second Philippine Olympic Festival at the Elpidio Quirino Stadium here.

Cardona, 16, ruled the 1,500m in five minutes and 26.1 seconds to propel Pangasinan to the overall lead with a 17-gold, 8-silver and 8-bronze medal harvest in Day 3. Bulacan is in second with 11-7-6 followed by Baguio and Ilocos Norte with 10-12-8 and 10-10-8 records, respectively.

The feat thus put her alongside gymnast Castro with four gold medals apiece and could emerge as the meet’s best performer if she could lead her 4x400m relay team to victory.

"I hope I could win another gold medal," said Cardona, who won in 3,000m, 5,000 and 10,000m and bagged a silver in 800m, in Filipino.

Cardona, the youngest of five children of a fisherman in an island barangay near Bolinao, said she hasn’t donned a pair of shoes in competition in two years.

"The last time I did, I lost," said Cardona, "I’m more comfortable running barefoot, maybe that’s why I’m winning here," she added.

Meanwhile, sports coordinators from host Ilocos Sur and La Union blasted the organizers for charging athletes with registration fees.

"Some of my athletes weren’t allowed to run because we don’t have the money to pay for an entrance fee," said Ilocos Sur coordinator Leo Palma in Filipino. "This stadium is ours, why should we be barred from playing here."

La Union’s Brian Ronquillo said they were also not informed that they would pay certain fees to be able to compete.

"They didn’t tell us that we need to pay an entrance fee. We can’t pay it because the money we brought is just good for our food and transportation," he said.

The POF charges P350 per athlete in athletics, P150 in taekwondo, P50 in table tennis and P200 per event in karate.

Organizers of the event, however, said it was a case of miscommunication.

Baguio also made its presence felt in track and field as Emmanuel Lucas ruled the 400m, John Joseph Pelegrino topped the triple jump and Cesar Castaneto Jr. won the 10,000m run.

Ilocos Sur, meanwhile, finally won two gold medals on victories by Sarah Jane Pascua and Brian Bautista.

Pascua delivered the province’s first gold with a 7.94-meter throw in shot put while Bautista topped the discus throw event with a heave of 31.97 meters.

Over at the JTC Mall in nearby Bantay town, Pangasinan picked up two more gold medals on victories by Chris Aldrimar and Mary Ann Crisostomo in the 14-and-under division of table tennis.

Nueva Ecija also copped four gold medals, including two in table tennis from Kenneth Castro and Jamela Prestoza in the 17-and-under division.

In other fronts, Ilocos Norte carved out a 4-2 win over Tarlac to clinch the 16-17 class football gold while Bulacan trounced Cagayan, 75-69, for the basketball gold.