GTK predicts six-gold haul for tracksters

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) has predicted a six-gold medal haul in next month’s Southeast Asian Games campaign with long jump queen Marestella Torres and marathon king Eduardo Buenavista expected to dominate their respective events in Indonesia.

Aside from Torres and Buenavista, others tipped to win the gold medals in the biennial meet slated Nov. 12-22 are javelin throwers Rosie Villarito and Danilo Fresnido, hammer thrower Arniel Ferreira and steeplechaser Rene Herrera, according to athletics chief Go Teng Kok.

All six were part of the seven-man gold medal team of Go during the 2009 edition of the SEA Games in Laos.

Go said that no one within the region has surpassed the time and record previously registered by all six Filipino bets, thereby making all of them a heavy favorite to repeat as gold medal winners.

“Our veterans are still strong enough, although Patafa, I think, is in a transition period at this point,” said Go in the PSA Forum at Shakey’s UN Ave. Tuesday.

“Our athletes are retiring one by one but we have young talents right now which we hope will take up the cudgels and perform well in the next SEA Games,” Go said.

He mentioned Junrey Bano (400-meter hurdles) and the 4x400 meter relay team of Bano, Christian Bagsit and Edgardo Alejan as among those potential gold medalists in the future.

Go also considered long jump specialist Henry Dagmil and defending women’s marathon champion Jho-An Banayag as possible dark horses in this year’s SEA Games.

Banayag, according to Go, will be up against Indonesian bet Triyaningsih, the so-called “super woman”, who is entered in three events of marathon, 5,000m, and 10,000m.

Triyaningsih was gold medalists in the 5,000 and 10,000m events in the SEA Games two years ago, and registered a time of 2 hours, 31 minutes during the marathon event of the Guangzhou Asian Games last year, better than the 2 hour, 46-minute golden time of Banayag.