Fil-American Kayla Richardson proved her worth in the Philippines team going to 2017 Southeast Asian Games this August by breaking the three-year-old national record in the women’s 400 meters.
According to pinoyathletics.info, which first broke the story, Richardson clocked 54.06 seconds during the Battle of Bayou meet in Louisiana over the weekend.
Richardson placed ninth among 18 other competitors, but her performance eclipsed the national record of Fil-American Zion Corrales-Nelson, who posted 54.18sec at the British Columbia Championships in Langley, British Columbia in 2014.
Her performance came a few weeks after the 2017 Philippine National Open in Isabela, where the athletics association imposed a rule that all SEAG-bound candidates must participate in the annual local meet.
Richardson, along with sister Kyla and reaigning SEAG hammer throw record holder Caleb Stuart, begged off from the competition due to personal reasons, with the Richardsons failing to attend due to school commitments.
Richardson is actually the best bet in the 100m and 200m of the SEAG, having won the gold and silver, respectively, at the 2015 Singapore edition.
With her current performance, the athletics association must evaluate their policy with the biennial edition already four months away. (Kristel Satumbaga)