Veteran long jumper Marestella Torres intensified her Rio Olympics preparations after capturing the gold medal in her age group division in the 19th Asian Masters Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.
The 36-year-old Torres leapt 6.41 meters to easily dominate her rivals in the 35-40 age class.
Japan’s Wakako Kamijo came in second with 4.78m, while India’s Sharma Rachna placed third with 4.58m.
Despite the golden victory, Torres’ feat, however, was a few meters shorter than her previous feat at the Philippine National Open last month where she jumped 6.60m.
Torres became the sixth Filipino Olympian in the Rio Games after earning a wildcard berth through the “principle of universality”, but the multiple Southeast Asian Games medalist still aims to earn the Olympic qualifying standard of 6.70m. She has a personal best record of 6.71m.
Elmira Bulauitan-Gabito also topped the 40-45 class with 5.23m, edging Thailand’s Rassamee Sumethiwit (4.70m) and Malaysia’s Kam Mun Lau (4.44m).