Mary hailed RP’s new star; Fil-Am scores

Mary Grace Melgar, who was bred, born and raised in the Philippines, added two gold medals under her name yesterday and became the first triple-gold winner in the ongoing National Open Track and Field Championship at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Melgar, of the Philippine Navy, took the cudgels for the local athletes when she won the 400m hurdles under a bright morning sky before ruling the 400m race under a slight afternoon drizzle. She copped her first gold of the meet in the 4 x 100 relay the other day.

A discovery of long jump queen Elma Muros, Melgar clocked 1:00.6 in the 400m hurdles and did 55.70 in the 400m race. Both times were off any existing records but were enough to give the tall, long-legged athlete all the respect and recognition she deserves.

On the third, penultimate day of the competition, which drew 32 foreign athletes from seven other countries, runner Kashus Perona finally broke the golden ice for the fancied Fil-Americans when he topped the men’s 400-m with a time of 47.26 seconds.

"It was a good competition. Everytime you do your best, it always make you feel good," said Perona, a 6-foot-1 runner wearing an Afro hairdo.

To win the gold, Perona defeated top local bet Ernie Candelario who rued the fact that he was made to occupy lane eight when he was earlier informed he was running either on lane three or four. Candelario was close second in 47.47 seconds.

Perona merely laughed it off, saying he would have given his best just the same – no matter what lane he was on.

"These things happen. It’s what you do on the track. It wouldn’t have bothered me running on lane eight because I was focused," added the native of Long Beach, California who works for a wire services company.

The only record broken for the day was that of the women’s triple jump won by Maristela Torres of the Philippine Army. She had a winning effort of 12.67 meters to break the previous mark of 12.56 set by Percela Molina during the 2001 National Open.

Eduardo Buenavista won the 5,000m gold with a time of 14:19.27. It was his second gold following his victory in the 10,000m in last Tuesday’s opener.

The local sprinters went home without a gold.

Shu Yan of China reigned supreme in the women’s century with a time of 11.84 seconds. Lerma Bulauitan came in second at 11.95 followed by Honey Joy Ortaliz of FEU at 12.31 and pretty Fil-American Breanne Bumanlag at 12.76.

It was Bumanlag, however, who looked like the winner after the race. The pony-tailed, 15-year-old high school student was a big hit among her male counterparts, particularly those from Hong Kong who had their pictures taken with the Fil-Am athlete.

The men’s 100m gold went to Sompote Swannarangsri of Thailand (10.73). He was trailed by countryman Piron Autas (10.82), Indonesian John Herman Muray (10.96) and Alex Gabito of the Philippine Navy (11.03).

Other winners, based on available results, were Kae Ku Lee of Korea in men’s triple jump (15.17m), Jesus Nanasses Ranin of Naga City in men’s shot put (11.62m), Russel Camero in women’s 400m (58.81), Maricel Mariano in girls’ triple jump (11.50m), Pang Hok Man of Hong Kong in girls’ 100m (12.69), Tang Yik Chun of Hong Kong in boys’ 100m (10.85) and Jud Villadiego of Laguna in the boys’ 400m (51.18),

Perona, who traces his roots in Manila, said he’s willing to stay longer in Manila in the hope of making it to the RP team and seeing action in future international competitions.

"I’m here to make a difference and do something for our flag. I love the US because it’s where I was born. It’s my home but coming here gives me some sense of pride, too. I’m willing to do everything because I don’t like my job in the US that much," he said.

Perona carries a US passport but is working on his Philippine passport. He will see action in today’s finals of the 200m where he has a personal best of 21.21. His best time in the 400m is 46.21.