Richardson twins fuel Rio bids in athletics

MANILA, Philippines - Fil-Am Kayla Richardson, the fastest woman in the last Southeast Asian Games, and her twin sister Kyla have both shown significant improvement in training and stayed on track for possible shots at the Rio Olympics.

Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico said per report of their father-coach Jeff Richardson, the twins are on course to resetting their respective personal bests in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter runs.

“According to Richardson, both girls have made improvements in strength and have been training with more emphasis on speed-power combination,” said Juico.

The elder Richardson, he said, has been hand timing the twins’ 60 meter performances and converting them to times that would indicate “they could eclipse the 11.29 seconds required in the 100 meters to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.”

“Richardson is optimistic that Kayla will be able to qualify for the Olympics and compete in both the 100 and 200 meter runs. Richardson said that Kayla “has already run a wind legal 11.65 seconds in the 100 meters and 23.6 seconds in the 200 meters,” said Juico.

The qualifying standard for the women’s 200m dash is 23.20 seconds.

Kayla, 17, might not be able to join the Philippine delegation to the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha Qatar – an Olympic-qualifying event – due to conflict with school obligations.

“Kayla has other opportunities to show her wares in many meets in the US,” said Juico.

The Patafa chief and Richardson also discussed the possibility of forming a 4x100m team that would aspire for a berth to Rio. The quartet will be bannered by the Richardson twins and Zion Corrales-Nelson, another prospect who has been granted a track scholarship by the University of Southern California. The Patafa will be on the lookout for a fourth member of the crew, who like the three could also run under 12 seconds.

“There is an immediate need for at least the three-US-based Fil-Ams to compete in the States in relays to establish consistency, chemistry and a competitive drive,” said Juico.