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THE Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA)
named long champions Henry Dagmil and Marestella Torres to the
Olympic-bound RP delegation.
PATAFA President Go Teng Kok said
the choice was based on the recent performances of the two in major
international tournaments.
“Pinag-aralan muna namin kung
sino ang may pinakamalapit na record sa kani-kaniyang events sa
Olympics. And we came up with Henry and Marestella as the best
choice for Beijing Olympics,” stressed Go.
Dagmil, who is fresh from
two-month training in Los Angeles, California, is currently ranked
No. 49 in the world and holds the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG)
record of 7.87 meters he established in Thailand last year.
The 26-year-old South Cotobato
pride also broke the national record last month in Bush Southern
California United States Track and Field Championships when he
cleared 7.99 meters.
Torres, a back-to-back SEA Games
champion, won a silver and a bronze in the just-concluded Asian
Athletics Grand Prix. She also has a personal best of 6.63 meters.
“We admitted that landing in
the medal podium is quite far from reality. Mala-lakas na atleta na
mula sa buong mundo ang maglalaban-laban. Pero siguradong ga-gawin
ng mga atleta natin ang lahat para makasabay sa tindi ng kumpetisyon
sa Olympics,” added Go.
The other members of the RP
Olympic team are boxer Harry Tañamor, tae kwon do jins Mary
Antoinette Rivero and Tshomlee Go, swimmers Miguel Molina, James
Walsh, Daniel Coakley, Ryan Arabejo and Christel Simms, divers
Sheila Mae Perez and Ryan Rexel Fabriga, archer Mark Javier, and
shooter Eric Ang.
--Emil C. Noguera
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