BY MARK REY MONTEJO
As expected, Fil-British Victoria Bossong and Hussein Loraña humbled their respective rivals in the 2024 ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at PhilSports Oval in Pasig City on Saturday evening, May 11.
Already used to the punishing PH weather, the 21-year-old Bossong finally showed her stuff, winning the women’s 800m gold in 2 minutes and 9.56 seconds.
She easily beat national team member Bernalyn Bejoy (2:12.48) and Far Eastern University’s Susan Ramadan (2:17.88) but left ruing after she failed to even approximate her personal best.
It can be remembered that the pre-med student timed 2:00.92 in a Florida tilt last March – just a hairline short of the Olympic qualifying standard time of 1:59.30.
Still, she’s not losing hope that one day she will be able to hit her target before the deadline in July ends.
Part of Harvard athletics team, Bossong’s participation was part of her preparation for her upcoming NCAA regional stint in the US.
“This week, I’m going back to Kentucky and will try my best to win the national championship,” said Bossong whose mother hails from Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro.
“But I’ll do my best as well to hit the Paris mark, and represent this country,” she added as it would be a dream come true if she becomes a member of the PH team one day.
Loraña encountered no problem in topping the men’s 800m as he timed 1 minute and 51.32 second, beating Mandaluyong’s David Paul Matibag (1:52.34) and UST’s Oyamkerl Espinosa (1:52.63) snatched the bronze.
Loraña is also hoping to do well in Thailand and Taiwan after a stellar showing in Hong Kong Athletics Championships last week.
In men’s 4x100m Relay (Open), Sabah Athletics (40.86) proved its might by pocketing gold, beating Philippine Navy (42.04) and University of Mindanao (42.63)
FilAm Sports’ Sydney Yap ruled the men’s hammer throw in overpowering fashion after throwing the iron ball to a distance of 59.42 meters. Phomjan Piyadanai (51.21) and UST’s John Nicholan Pangan (40.01) settled for far second and third, respectively.
In U20 events, Sarawak Sukma Malaysia’s Voon Pei Ling logged 11.64 meters to reign supreme in the women’s shot put while Shiela Mae Domillies of University of Baguio clocked 2 minutes and 31.49 seconds for the women’s 800m crown.
Biñan’s Alex Liwanag made his presence felt by bagging the gold medal in the 800m event in the U18 category. He was also part of the team that reigned supreme in the 4×100 meter relay.
