Athletics team buckles down to work for SEAG mission
Published Mar 27, 2023 08:40 am
ILAGAN CITY – With the fire getting extinguished to mark the end of another successful staging of the athletics tournament, the national team is now shifting its focus on the next big thing around the corner – the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
*PATAFA president Terry Capistrano during the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championship in Ilagan City, Isabela (Reynald Magallon)*
As the five-day ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championship came to an end Sunday night, March 26, the national athletes buckle down to their respective training as they are hard-pressed to once again represent the country in highest honors possible in the biennial meet. The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) president Terry Capistrano said that the association would like to dream big and go way beyond the five gold medal haul of the Filipinos in athletics although he knew it would be easier said than done. “I really don’t like forecasts but people would want to hear that pero nung SEA games sa Hanoi, we had five gold medals. We would like to go way beyond the five gold medals but it's going to get harder and harder,” said Capistrano who watched the events in the final two days of the National Open. The track and field chief named Vietnam and Thailand as one of the country’s fiercest competitors in the regional tiff especially after finishing first and second in the medal tally the last time out. Vietnam collected 22 golds, 14 silvers and eight bronzes while Thailand amassed 12 golds, 11 silvers and eight bronzes. The Philippines, on the other hand, came in third with five golds along with seven silvers and 14 bronzes. Capistrano bared that PATAFA has already sent the names of athletes who could represent the country in the Phnom Penh but it is expected to get trimmed down. He also noted that some of the Fil-Heritage athletes that saw action for the first time in the Ilagan trackfest are also included to the submitted list. Still, despite the expectations, Capistrano said that he wouldn’t want to put pressure on the athletes and the national team coaches as he insisted that giving their all for the flag and country would already be enough. “I don’t want to put additional pressure, they know what they have to do and paano gawin iyon, gawin yung preparations properly. It wouldn't be disappointing if we do not make it despite the effort but at least you give a hundred percent effort and that’s more than the nation could ask from our national athletes,” he added.
*PATAFA president Terry Capistrano during the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championship in Ilagan City, Isabela (Reynald Magallon)*
As the five-day ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championship came to an end Sunday night, March 26, the national athletes buckle down to their respective training as they are hard-pressed to once again represent the country in highest honors possible in the biennial meet. The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) president Terry Capistrano said that the association would like to dream big and go way beyond the five gold medal haul of the Filipinos in athletics although he knew it would be easier said than done. “I really don’t like forecasts but people would want to hear that pero nung SEA games sa Hanoi, we had five gold medals. We would like to go way beyond the five gold medals but it's going to get harder and harder,” said Capistrano who watched the events in the final two days of the National Open. The track and field chief named Vietnam and Thailand as one of the country’s fiercest competitors in the regional tiff especially after finishing first and second in the medal tally the last time out. Vietnam collected 22 golds, 14 silvers and eight bronzes while Thailand amassed 12 golds, 11 silvers and eight bronzes. The Philippines, on the other hand, came in third with five golds along with seven silvers and 14 bronzes. Capistrano bared that PATAFA has already sent the names of athletes who could represent the country in the Phnom Penh but it is expected to get trimmed down. He also noted that some of the Fil-Heritage athletes that saw action for the first time in the Ilagan trackfest are also included to the submitted list. Still, despite the expectations, Capistrano said that he wouldn’t want to put pressure on the athletes and the national team coaches as he insisted that giving their all for the flag and country would already be enough. “I don’t want to put additional pressure, they know what they have to do and paano gawin iyon, gawin yung preparations properly. It wouldn't be disappointing if we do not make it despite the effort but at least you give a hundred percent effort and that’s more than the nation could ask from our national athletes,” he added.