GTK: Tracksters good for 6 golds

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will have its hands full as it vies for the gold medal in athletics, the centerpiece event of the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia in November.

Go Teng Kok, president of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association, told yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s UN Avenue that Thailand remains the team to beat.

“In Southeast Asia it’s still Thailand. Then there’s Vietnam and Indonesia. But we’re catching up along with Malaysia,” said the long-time head of Philippine athletics.

But the Patafa chief, who promised his all-out support to his so-called GTK Army, said the Philippines will be good for six or seven of the 46 gold medals at stake in athletics.

“I told all my athletes that I’ll give them all the support they need as long as they show their commitment for the country. And they all responded positively,” he said.

The Filipinos won seven gold, three silver and four bronze medals in the 2009 SEA Games in Laos, and is once again expected to provide the most number of medals for the country in November.

 “We won seven gold medals the last time. Of this seven, I’m counting on six to defend their crowns. Then maybe we can pull off some surprises in the other events,” said Go.

Gold medal winners for Phl in 2009 were Rene Herrera (3000-m steeplechase), Eduardo Buenavista (men’s marathon), Arniel Ferreira (hammer throw), Danilo Fresnido (javelin), Joan Banayag (women’s marathon), Marestella Torres (long jump) and Rosie Villarito (javelin).

Go said he has 24 young and promising athletes, aged 18 to 22 years, who can pull off a surprise in Indonesia, considering that they’ve already won medals in international competitions.

He was referring to Niño Espinosa (long jump), Jayson Ramil Sid (400 meters and 400m long hurdles) and Eliezer Sunang (shotput) who all performed well in the recent Vietnam Open.

Head coach Josehy Sy said these athletes have shown tremendous improvement over the recent months, and by the time the SEA Games is held, they could be ready for battle.

 “These are our future champions so I’m now appealing to the Philippine Sports Commission to include them in the national pool. Right now, they are on their own, and we at Patafa spend for them,” said Go.

Go did not identify the other athletes who can win medals in Indonesia because he’d rather wait for the actual competition. He said other Southeast Asian countries were surprised to see how these young athletes performed in Vietnam.

 “They kept on asking who these athletes are and where they came from. They didn’t even know them and they won medals in Vietnam. I want them to be as surprised in the SEA Games,” he said.

 “If these athletes continue to show improvement heading to the SEA Games, I promised them I would take them there,” added Go.