Fil-Am pole vaulter bags bronze in Doha Asian meet

MANILA, Philippines — Fil-Am Natalie Uy set a new Philippine record on the way to a bronze-medal feat on women’s pole vault in the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Uy, a 24-year-old former Eastern Michigan standout who went through a tedious process to be able to don the national colors, made everything worthwhile as she registered 4.20 meters for third place behind Asian Games champion Ling Li of China and another Chinese Xu Huiqin.

Ling won with her 4.61m effort while Xu came in second at 4.31.

Uy’s 4.20 meters eclipsed the previous national mark of 4.12m she set in her smashing debut with Team Phl in the recent Ayala Phl Athletics Championship in Ilagan City.

In the Ayala meet, Uy erased the 38-year-old record set by Deborah Samson in the Invitational Championships in Cerritos, United States.

Uy actually attempted a 4.20m in Ilagan but failed to clear the bar, no thanks to fatigue and the hot Isabela weather.

In Doha, she was good to break her one-month record.

And the performance bodes well for Uy’s bid to strike gold in the Southeast Asian Games the country will host late this year.

Thai Chayanisa Chomchuendee won the gold in the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur at 4.10m. Uy, meanwhile, has a personal best of 4.30 set in Castellon, Spain last year.

Uy’s bronze-medal feat came two days after EJ Obiena snatched the men’s pole vault gold in a meet record-breaking effort.