Richardson tops 200m; Iraqi rules men’s side

ILAGAN CITY, Isabela, Philippines — Fil-Heritage athlete Kayla Richardson clocked 24.10 seconds in bagging the gold medal in the women’s 200m event at the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships.

Richardson edged Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli of Malaysia who crossed the finish at 24.17 seconds to take the silver while another Fil-Heritage runner, Danae Manibog, bagged the bronze at 24.76.

Richardson seeks a sprint double in going for the gold in the 100m today, this time competing with fellow national team member Kristina Knott.

In the men’s 200m, national team mainstay Umajesty Williams settled for the silver after Taha Hussein Yaseen of Iraq beat him to the wire.

Yaseen clocked 21.20 seconds to Williams’ 21.40. Another Iraqi, Mohammed Abdulridha Al-Tameemi bagged the bronze with a 21.67-second performance.

With about 20m to go, Williams was bothered by some pain on his right hamstring so he let up a bit on his pace.

“It was adrenaline telling my mind to go and push harder. However, with the bigger event coming in about a month and a half (SEA Games), I had to let up a bit and aim for that. But overall, I believe I had a good run,” Williams said.

The ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championship is supported by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc., CEL Logistics and Milo.