By MARK REY MONTEJO
Fil-American Eric Cray is aware that he doesn’t have much time left to compete. But the veteran hurdler is thrilled for the future of athletics as rising stars emerged during the 2024 ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships.
The 35-year-old Cray expressed his excitement about the PH team in the years to come, saying: “It’s great to see the growth of our sport, and it’s always good to see it progressing with the new people, the younger kids, it’s always a beautiful thing.”
“I’m very excited for the future of Philippine track and field,” added Cray, who took his second gold medal last Sunday, May 12, at the close of the week-long event.
Born in Olongapo City but was raised in Sacramento, Cray carved a name for himself in the after winning eight gold medals in the biggest meet in the region – the SEA Games.
But his biggest claim to fame was winning a gold in the Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, India and a silver (men’s 60m) in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan – both held in 2017.
The biggest break, however, was competing in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, though, he came short in the semifinals.
While there are young talents who can be nurtured and polished into becoming world beaters, Cray said he’s not yet ready to hang his sneakers or relinquish his throne.
But if it is his time to say goodbye, Cray’s immediate plan is to return to the country and help young guns reach the full potential.
“You know, when I’m done, not now. I definitely loved to give back and come and help the sport grow even more,” he concluded.
But before calling it a day, Cray relishes the idea of competing for one last time in the Olympics.
That could be a perfect swan song to a career dedicated to track events.
With six more competitions left, Cray is hoping to hit the Olympic qualifying standard before his deadline on June 30 lapses.
“For sure I wanna hit the Paris mark and I’ll do my best to qualify again,” he said.
The country has a lone entry so far in pole vaulter EJ Obiena.
