By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
ILOCOS SUR – Calabarzon bet Jessel Lumapas highlighted what perhaps to be her greatest week in a blooming athletics career by winning two more gold medals yesterday in the 2018 Palarong Pambansa at the President Elpidio Quirino Stadium here.
The 17-year-old Lumapas ruled the secondary girls 200 meters gold early in the day to complete a sprint double having won the century dash two days ago.
She clocked 24.61 seconds to edge Eastern Visayas rivals Decerie Niala (25.16sec) and Bianca Jane Combate (25.54sec) for her third gold in the week-long competition.
Half an hour later, the track star of Cavite teamed up with Erica Marie Ruto, Charlaine De Ocampo and Charmaine De Ocampo to capture the 4x400m relay gold in record-breaking time of 3 minutes and 53.97sec.
Their performance shattered Calabarzon’s own Palaro mark of 3:54.47 set in Antique last year where Lumampas and De Ocampo teamed up with Elvieane Gobotia and Millifagne Matchino.
It was Lumapas’ second record after eclipsing the Palaro mark in the 400m on Thursday.
“Hindi ko po inaasahan ang mga ito na magbe-break ako ng record,” said Lumapas, a Grade 11 student of Dasmariñas East Integrated High School.
She could finish with five golds as she will also anchor their team in the 4x100m relay.
John Emmanuel Reyes of NCR also made ripples when he topped the secondary boys pole vault by clearing the 3.80-meter barrier.
In swimming, five more records were smashed in Day 3 of the competition even as National Capital Region added five gold medals to its massive collection.
Setting new marks were Samantha Jhunace Corpuz of Ilocos Region in elementary girls 400m freestyle (4:44.53), Juliana Marien Villanueva of Davao Region in secondary girls 800m free (9:45.40), NCR’s Arbeen Miguel Thruelen in elementary boys 100m butterfly (1:02.39) and Michaela Jasmine Mojdeh in elementary girls 100m elementary girls 100m fly (1:06.01) and the elementary girls 4x50m free team of NCR (1:58.94)
In taekwondo, NCR reaped six golds courtesy of Gabriel Lamarca (finweight), Rommel Pablo Jr. (fly), Jemuel Rendora (light), Justine Mark Agno (open), Abigail Valdez (girls bantam) and James Emmanuel Macasaet (girls feather).
