JAKARTA – Notwithstanding his foot getting disengaged from the pedal clip twice, Filipino daredevil rider Joey Barba celebrated his return to the SEA Games with a silver-medal finish in the 1.5km downhill event, missing the gold by a heartbeat.
Barba, the 2007 champion, lost the gold to Indon rookie sensation Purnomo by .99 second, a difference he could have easily overturned if not for his two mishaps in the Gunung Pancar course turned to a muddied pit by the overnight rains.
Still, Barba said his feat was good enough after being sidelined in the Laos Games in 2009.
The fact that he only placed sixth in the seeding run Friday then zoomed to second in the final also elated the 26-year-old Dumaguete native.
“It’s unfortunate that I missed the gold but silver is not bad considering our long idleness. Since we were not able to compete in Laos (2009), I had no idea of the field. I wasn’t able to gauge their strength,” Barba told The STAR.
The COSCA HRM freshman set out the underdog after checking in only sixth in the seeding run, 12 seconds behind Indon top finisher Popo Ario Sejati (2:14.40).
Barba, however, surprised everybody as he worked his way well on the mud in the final, clocking 2:32.44 as against Purnomo’s 2:31.45.
“The course condition completely changed due to the rains, and it worked to Joey’s favor,” said Phl cycling team manager Edmund Mangaser.