By MARK REY MONTEJO
Fil-American Lauren Hoffman and Spain-based hurdler John Cabang Tolentino delivered thrilling performances to break their respective national records in the 2024 ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at the PhilSports Oval in Pasig City on Wednesday evening, May 8.
Hoffman, 24, registered a new national mark of 13.34 seconds to snag the gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles event and shatter her previous time of 13.41sec in the Duke Invitational tournament in Durham last April.
Philippine Army’s Jelly Dianne Paragile (14.16secs) and UST’s Lyka Miravalles (15.23sec) took silver and bronze, respectively.
“I’m so happy that I’m competing in front of the Filipino fans, and my family,” Hoffman said.
“That’s the goal. I think it’s really exciting and it shows what Filipinas can bring when they step on the track,” she added.
It also preserved Hoffman’s streak of record-smashing performances after breaking her own 400m hurdles record several times, the last one at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitation in Coral Gables on March 23.
Meanwhile, Cabang registered 13.37 seconds in the men’s 110m hurdles category to break his previous time of 13.53sec in the Spanish Championships last July.
PH Navy’s Clinton Kingsley Bautista tallied 13.98sec for silver while Hong Kong’s Liu Hiu Long crossed the line in 14.35sec to settle for bronze medal.
