The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Clyde Mariano
Formidable the task may seem, Filipino tracksters competing in this year’s Southeast Asian Games in Singapore are hoping history would be kind to them.
Over three decades after the legendary squad made up among others of sprinter Lydia de Vega, long jumper Elma Muros and the middle distance runners comprising the dreaded ‘Bicol Express’ quartet dominated the field, Filipino tracksters are hoping they can repeat the feat in the biennial event set June 5-16 this year.
It was in the island nation when the country’s celebrated Gintong Alay athletes made history in 1983 when they ran away with 12 gold, 12 silver and 9 bronze medals while resetting three meet records courtesy of Renato Unso, Isidro del Prado, and Muros.
The medal harvest remains unsurpassed today, not even by the 9-11-9 medal tally in Manila in 2005 when the Philippines placed a decent second overall to powerhouse Thailand.
“Difficult but possible,” said Unso of the country’s chances of equaling if not bettering the 1983 feat.
The recently-appointed Philippine Amateur Track and Field (PATAFA) secretary-general who replaced long-serving 1964 Tokyo Olympian Ben Silva Netto, broke the record in the 400m hurdles. Del Prado, a member of the dreaded “Bicol Express” quartet, shattered the record in the 400m, and Muros, the “Iron Lady” from Romblon, set a new record in long jump.
Exactly 32 years after the historic feat, the track and field team reinforced by Fil-Americans under the wings of new PATAFA president Philip E. Juico, returns to Singapore barely four months from now armed with a grim determination to win as many medals as they can and better the performances of their predecessors.
The task is daunting considering that they will face the best and the brightest athletes from 10 countries in the region at the state-of-the-art Singapore National Sports Stadium, site of the elaborate opening ceremony.
Whether the Fil-Am powered track and field team could surpass the heroics of De Vega and company remains to be seen though.
Unso refuses to predict because of the toughness of competition. However, he remains positive of a decent showing by the Filipino athletes honed by rigorous training at the Teachers’ Camp oval in Baguio City and exposure to foreign competitions.
“Sana magawa nila yung nagawa naming noong 1983 and make the country proud again,” said Unso currently athletic director of Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Juico, who succeeded PATAFA president Go Teng Kok, appointed Unso as his secretary general and help him chart the destiny of athletics.
Unso’s SEA Games record 51.26 seconds in 400m hurdles was broken by Fil-Am Eric Shawn Cray in Myanmar with a new meet record of 51 seconds.
Married to former basketball player April Sacro and father of Palarong Pambansa gold medalist Patrick Unso, the elder Unso was former coach of Javier Gomez, son of PSC Commissioner Jose Luis Gomez that competed in decathlon in the Thailand Open held at Thammassat University in Bangkok.
The Texas-based Cray, whose Filipina mother hails from Olongapo and veteran of the recent Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, is all out to reaffirm his dominance in his pet event.
“He (Cray) is our top bet in the 400m hurdles. Hopefully, he would live up to his billing,” Unso said.
Among the other medal potentials are fellow Fil-Am Myanmar bronze medalist Jessica Barnard, Cole Stuart, and the Richardson sisters, Kayla and Karla and a horde of local talents Ramil Cid, Christopher Ulboc, Arlan Christian Bagsit, Edgardo Alejan, Melvin Guarte, Eduardo Buenavista, Olympian Henry Dagmil, and comebacking two-time Olympian and former Asian Athletics long jump queen Maristella Torres.
Cid, a product of UAAP from FEU, ruled decathlon in record time. He is expected to dominate his pet event.
Athletics, the centerpiece event of 36 sports, has more than 40 events for men and women scheduled at the Singapore National Stadium, also the site of football competitions.
The Philippines, headed by Chief of Mission Julian Camacho, will compete in 33 sports minus chess, wrestling, weightlifting and karatedo which were scrapped by the host country. The Philippine is sending close to 400 athletes, more than double the 178 sent to Myanmar two years ago.