KUALA LUMPUR – Fil-American Kayla Richardson will run the 200 meters in the 29th Southeast Asian Games, but will skip the century dash where she pulled off a surprise win two years ago in Singapore.
Richardson said she has been training extensively for the longer sprint event, but hopes to run the 100 meters when the country hosts the Games in 2019.
“I’m sure I would like to run the 100 again,” said Richardson who had breakfast with twin sister Kyla and father Jeffrey Friday.
Kyla, whose career has been saddled by chronic injuries, is a member of the 4 x 100-meter relay.
Both sisters are incoming sophomores at the University of Southern California which granted them full athletic scholarships.
Kayla, the most outspoken between the two, said they don’t consider themselves as rivals.
“We just try to push each other harder,” said Kayla who, aside from the gold, took silver in the 200-meter event in Singapore.
She said they try to watch their diet – low on carbohydrates – but could not resist the Filipino dishes prepared by their Filipino grandmother.
“We love adobo and sinigang,” she said.
“And the halo-halo,” Jeffrey butted in.
The twins could have gotten their love of sports from their father who played two seasons in the minor baseball leagues in the United States.
Although identical in many ways – they even have the same course in college – both have individual differences.
Kayla said her sister loves to play the piano while she contents herself listening to music.
The difference is also visible in the clothes they wear. While Kayla goes for loud, colorful clothes, Kyla is into more subdued colors.