By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Hurdler Robyn Brown is ready for the big time, and so are the three other Fil-Am athletes.
Bown stamped her class by winning the gold medal in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, clocking 57.49 seconds to beat Kaila Barber (57.95sec) and Marie-Frederique Poulin (58.51sec) in the recent 2023 Royal City Inferno Track and Field Festival in Ontario, Canada.
Umajesty Williams could have produced the second gold for the Philippines but lost steam in an intense duel with Michael Roth in the men’s 400m.
Williams clocked 46.48 against the 46.07 by Roth in one of the most exciting races for the day.
The two bronze medals were won by Eric Cray and William Morrison.
Cray, a six-time Southeast Asian Games champion, wound up third in the men’s 400m hurdles after clocking 49.88sec.
Roxroy Cato topped the event in 49.55sec while Shakeem Hall Smoth finished second (49.69sec).
Morrison bagged the shotput bronze with a heave of 17.85m behind Mark Bujnowski (19.26m) and Joseph Maxwell (18.73m).
The four Filipino bets are part of the 23-player squad that will compete in the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships from July 12 to 16 in Pattaya, Thailand, which serves as one of the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
