Naomi Cesar sets new Philippine record in silver finish at Oregon OSAA Outdoor State tilt

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine athletics could be witnessing the emergence of its next queen of the track, if she isn’t already.

Her name is Naomi Cesar.

The 17-year-old Filipino-American continued to post feats, this time adding a national record in the women’s 800 meters to the mix after clocking two minutes and 6.24 seconds that snared her the silver in the Oregon OSAA Outdoor State Championships.

She smashed the 2:06.75 mark set by another Fil-Am Jessica Barnard exactly a decade ago also in Portland.

“I believe Noami is on the right track,” an impressed Philippine Athletics Secretary-General Jasper Tanhueco told The STAR on Monday.

“We’ve seen her progress from winning bronze to silver, and gold in major competitions. She’s still young, and to run that kind of time at her age shows tremendous potential,” he added.

It came just six months after blazing her to the Southeast Asian Games gold medal in the same event in Thailand where she became the youngest from the country to ever scooped up the mint in the biennial meet.

In October last year, the Western Colorado University standout also snared the silver in the 3rd Asian Youth Games in Bahrain.

Next stop for Cesar is the Youth Olympic Games slated October 31 to November 13 in Dakar, Senegal.

“More than the record itself, what impresses me is her continuous improvement and maturity as an athlete,” said Tanhueco.