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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider National Open returns to Ilagan City

National Open returns to Ilagan City

Published Feb 22, 2023 03:36 pm
Eric Cray

The summer heat is expected to blaze even further in the open field with precious ranking points for the world championships up for grabs in the 2023 Philippine Athletics Championships in Ilagan City, Isabela on March 21 to 26.

Philippine Athletics Track And Field Association (PATAFA) secretary general Edward Kho bared the development during the National Open’s official media launch at the Diamond Hotel in Manila on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

An all-star roster of athletes is expected to join, according to Kho, with some of the top national athletes including the likes of Eric Cray, Kristina Knott, Natalie Uy and a new batch of promising Fil-heritage athletes like Umajesty Williams are set to participate in the six-day event which not only attracted entries from the national training pool, collegiate leagues and standout athletes from Palarong Pambansa and Batang Pinoy but also from foreign participants.

The best athletes from Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka and even Iraq have already committed to join in what is expected to be a tightly contested national championship especially that it will be the first time that the it will be giving as much as 100 ranking points which will be vital for the qualification for the 2023 Athletics World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August.

Also adding to the excitement is the return of the centerpiece sport of event of the PATAFA to the Ilagan Sports Complex which was a witness to the top Filipino athletes strutting their wares during Ilagan’s City’s consecutive hosting of the annual national event from 2017 to 2019.

“We are so proud to have been a partner of the City of Ilagan kasi kung natatandaan niyo po huli po silang naghost ng National Open nung 2019 but prior to that they started to be the host in 2017 and 2018 and they’ve been really exceptional as a host, as a co-organizer,” said Kho. 

“We thought of having the National Open as the final selection of the Southeast Asian, we thought of like, hindi, sa Ilagan natin dalhin kasi may kakampi tayo,” added Kho who was joined by PATAFA consultant Reli De Leon and national team head coach Noel Posadas along with sponsors Carlo Sampan of Milo and Cel Logistics SVP Andoy Perez and AVP for Business Development Anton Capistrano.

Also joining the event through the Zoom press conference was Ilagan City Mayor Jay Diaz and world No. 3 pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena who is currently in a seven-day stay in the country to coordinate with Philippine Sports Commission and PATAFA in hopes of pushing through with his bid to put up a street competition for pole vault and bring some of the top pole vaulters in the world to the country.

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National Open Patafa 2023 Philippine Athletics Championships
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