Lavandia rips javelin mark; Muros injured

MANILA, Philippines - Erlinda Lavandia made a record-setting throw in javelin but top Filipina bet Elma Muros-Posadas sustained injury on the third day of the 17th Asia Masters Athletics Championships in Taipei yesterday.

Lavandia, described by her foreign contemporaries as the most feared javelin thrower in the field, set a new mark at 32.26 meters in her sixth and final heave in the 60-64 age bracket. She eclipsed the old record of 27.36 meters by Kato Atsuko of Japan in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2009.

Lavandia owns all javelin throw records in the 40 (set in Jakarta, 1994), 45 (Okinawa, 1998), 50 (Dalian, China 2002), and 55 years old (Kuala Lumpur, 2010).

The Philippines thus hiked its medal haul in this competition to three gold medals, counting those of Muros-Posadas and Lerma Bulauitan-Gabito, with three silvers courtesy of Victorina Calma in the women’s 35-39 years old 800-m run, John Lozada in the 800-meter race for men 35-39 years old, and Aurora Ramos in the 100-m dash for women 50-54 years old. 

But the sidelining of Muros-Posadas will slow down Team Phl’s campaign in the event.

The overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal in the women’s 80-m hurdles (45-49 years old), Muros-Posadas got the clear lead after clearing two bars when she suffered a pulled right hamstring and fell down in pain after failing to clear two more. She was immediately brought to the Taipei City Sports Park clinic and was made to rest for more than an hour.

Delegation head and National Masters and Seniors Athletic Association of the Philippines (NMSAAP) president Manny Ibay said Muros-Posadas will be under observation in the next three days although Ibay is doubtful if she would be able to recover for her favorite long jump event on Tuesday.

“We are concerned about her health, we don’t want to push Elma further,” said Ibay, who admitted that Muros-Posadas’ sidelining will diminish the country’s chances of meeting its initial target of 10 gold medals in this event for veteran athletes.

Muros-Posadas won the gold medal in the 100-meter dash for women 45-49 years old on Saturday, complimenting Bulauitan-Gabito’s own gold in the 100-m race for women 35-39 years old on the same day.

“Wala na siguro, Elma is our anchor here. She was pacing herself for the long jump and the 4x100 relay before she was injured,” Ibay added.

With Muros-Posadas out, Kaori Nishizawa of Japan who was two jumps away before the top Philippine bet was injured, frolicked to the gold medal in 13.48 seconds and was followed by Minoti Sachidanand Prasad of India (16.45) and R.W.D. Gunasekava of Sri Lanka (17.56).