SANYA, China — The Philippine athletics team is just coming off an impressive medal haul in the 6th Asian Beach Games and it’s already looking for ways to further improve its standings especially that the next edition will be held in Cebu in 2028.

The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) is hoping to add more athletics events — particularly pole vault — when it's the country’s turn to host the beach games.

“Nag-uusap na kami ng mga officials. I think yung isang way na maganda is yung pole vault event which is ginagawa na ito sa Busan na nasa sand. May runway lang yung pole vault,” said PATAFA secretary general Jasper Tanhueco.

“Maganda ito kasi tayo yung No.1 in Asia sa pole vault in the name of EJ Obiena so it’s good na mapanood din. So hopefully. I’m not saying na mayroon ka agad pero tayo ang host so we’ll see,” he added.

PH athletics fielded a lean but mean seven-member crew for this year’s edition and yet they delivered a gold, a silver and a bronze, becoming the second-best performing national sports association in the beach games.

Leonard Grospe bagged the gold in the men’s high jump while Jessica Laurance claimed the bronze in the women’s 60-meter race. 

Laurance was also the only multi-medalist for Team PH after claiming a silver together with Olympian Kristina Knott, Shane Joy Ponce and Lianne Diana Pama in the women’s 4x60m relay.

Tanhueco assured that the team will have a bigger delegation for the Cebu Beach Games especially with the athletes who are members of the military coming in.

“Definitely we will have more participants  prior  to our hosting. We will have our own qualifying as well,” said Tanhueco.

“Siyempre mas paghahandaan natin medyo challenging kasi karamihan actually first time nila magcompete sa beach. Mas paghahandaan pa natin,” he added.