Giron on track for gold

MANILA, Philippines – Hopes are high that back-to-back UAAP 800m king Edwin Giron will strike gold in his pet event in the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games, but Philippine Athletics and Track and Field Association president Terry Capistrano tempered expectations yesterday as it could boil down to tactics particularly when the 23-year-old bet runs 1,500m.

Giron will take to the track for 1,500m Monday and run 800m Wednesday. “Edwin cracked the 800m gold standard in the previous SEA Games during the ICTSI National Championships in Isabela last March under difficult circumstances,” said Capistrano. “Conditions will be far better in Phnom Penh. In 1,500m, I expect a tactical race which is over four laps compared to two for 800m. A country can enter two runners and they can do things together tactically. The key is to be able to sprint in the homestretch.”

Giron has consistently clocked lower than 1:55.75 that Singapore’s Joshua Atkinson registered to win the 800m gold in Hanoi last year. In the UAAP last November, he timed 1:53.56 to win his second straight gold for UP. In the PATAFA trials last February, he ran 1:53.50 and in the Isabela heats, marked 1:51.83. Last year, Giron clocked 1:52.84 and 1:51.89 in two SEA Games trials and 1:53.75 in the National Championships but in Hanoi, finished out of the podium with a time of 1:58.02. In Cambodia, PATAFA will also field Alfrence Braza in 1,500m and Mariano Masano in 800m.

In Hanoi, the Philippines claimed five gold, seven silver and 14 bronze medals in athletics to rank third overall behind Vietnam and Thailand. The golds came from Clinton Bautista (110m hurdles), Eric Cray (400m hurdles), EJ Obiena (pole vault), William Morrison (shot put) and Kayla Richardson (100m). All five are back to defend their crowns in Phnom Penh. Richardson will run 200m on Monday and 100m on Friday. Obiena will compete on Monday, Morrison on Tuesday and Bautista on Wednesday. Cray will do 400m hurdles on Thursday and Morrison will try his luck in discus throw also on Thursday. Cray will run 100m on Friday.

Capistrano said SEA Games rookie Umajesty Williams could pull a surprise as the Fil-Am is entered in 200m, 400m and 4x400m mixed. Williams, 24, topped the 400m open at the National Championships last March with a time of 47:15 and placed second in 200m, clocking 21.20. Williams, a University of Arizona alum, won a silver in 4x400m relay for the US in the 2018 World U20 Championships and gained eligibility to represent the Philippines last year. In Hanoi, the gold time for 400m was 46.44 and for 200m, 20.37. Another hopeful is Janry Ubas, the only Filipino medalist in the recent Asian Indoor Championships in Kazakhstan with a bronze in heptathlon. Ubas, 29, is entered in decathlon and long jump in Cambodia.