RP trackster wins gold in Thai Open

John Lozada accomplished what the RP delegation originally hoped for as he eclipsed his personal best by more than two seconds with a gold medal finish in his favorite event, jumpstarting the country’s campaign in Thursday’s start of the Thailand Open in Bangkok.

Unleashing a burst of strength and energy in the final stretch, Lozada clinched the gold medal with a time of 3:50.46 to surpass his personal record of 3:52.56 in the 1,500-meter run.

And if his performance will be the gauge in September’s Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Lozada is a shoo-in for the gold in the Malaysia SEAG considering that Brunei’s Munusamy Arunumungan won the gold in the 1999 Brunei SEAG with a time of 3:51.66, less than a second behind the Filipino’s time.

Lozada, whose time is less than two seconds behind Hector Begeo’s national record of 3:49.00 he recorded in the 1993 Singapore SEAG, will receive P5,000 from the Philippine Sports Commission and an additional incentive from athletics chief Go Teng Kok for his feat.

Veteran campaigner Roy Vence and fast-rising Joebert Delicaño failed to win the gold in their respective events.

Vence came in second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 32:06.64 while the 22-year-old Delicaño, who won a gold medal in the same event in last month’s Taiwan Open, ended up with a silver in the long jump on a distance of 7.36 meters, a far cry from his 7.46 in Taiwan.

Local bet Crisanto Canillo won one of RP’s two bronze medals in Day 1 by finishing third behind countryman Vence with a time of 32:10.08 while the country’s other bronze came from Ernie Candelaria, who timed in 47.69 seconds in the 400-meter dash. – Joey Villar