49 golds up for grabs today; tracksters gun for five as action heats up

Action in the 23rd SEA Games heats up today with 49 gold medals up for grabs in various events at different venues, including 14 in the centerpiece athletics event at the Rizal Memorial track and field oval.

The hosts are eyeing no less than five gold medals in athletics in Day 2 of the biennial event with Eduardo "Vertek" Buenavista heavily fancied to rule the 10,000 meter run. The four other gold medals, according to track and field Go Teng Kok, should come from Danilo Fresnido in javelin, Henry Dagmil in long jump, John Lozada in 800-m run, and Rene Herrera in the 3,000-m steeplechase.

The RP bets are also competing in the 110-m men’s hurdles, 100-m women’s hurdles, 100-m dash for men and women, men’s high jump and the women’s shotput.

The Filipino karatekas, shut out in the first day of action with only three bronze medals to show at the Mandaue Coliseum in Mandaue City, Cebu last night, hope to bounce back today with eight golds at stake in various weight divisions.

There will be six gold medals to be disputed in at the start of the shooting competitions with four final events on tap at the PSC Shooting Range at Fort Bonifacio and two over at the PNSA Clay Target Range in Muntinlupa.

Wushu, billed as one of the country’s gold medal sources in the biennial meet, stakes five gold medals with the RP bets expected to lead the chase for top honors in various classes.

The RP jins also try to live up to their pre-event hype as they open their campaign in one of the country’s most popular sports at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Athens Olympic veterans Mary Antoinette Rivero, Donald David Geisler and Tshomlee Go lead the Filipino jins’ bid in the taekwondo event where 16 gold medals are at stake.

Both Geisler and Rivero will see action in the lightweight matches set at 7 p.m. while entered in the flyweight divisions are Jeffrey Figueroa and Loraine Lorelie Catalan.

Go will have his turn tomorrow in the bantamweight class, same with Esther Marie Singson in the women’s division, Manuel Rivero and Kristie Elaine Alora in the featherweight class, and Alexander Briones and Maria Creselda Roxas in welterweight.

The other members of the RP taekwondo team eyeing to win half of the gold medals at stake in the event are John Paul Lizardo and Kathleen Eunice Alora (finweight), Dax Alberto Morfe and Veronica Domingo (middleweight) and Michael Alejandrino and Sally Solis (heavyweight).

Three gold medals are up for grabs each in aquatics and fencing while billiards offers two gold medals in the snooker team event and 8-ball pool doubles while one gold will be disputed in the rapid event of the chess competitions. — Dante Navarro