Silva-Netto hails Farah's gesture

LONDON – Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) secretary-general Benjamin Silva-Netto said yesterday he was thrilled by British double gold medalist Mo Farah’s gesture of applauding last-placer Rene Herrera for finishing the heat of the 5,000-meter run despite coming in about 600 meters after Azerbaijan pacesetter Hayle Ibrahimov before 50,000 cheering fans at the Olympic Stadium here.

Farah, a Somalia native who moved to England when he was eight, had previously won the 10,000-meter gold and in the same qualifying heat as Herrera, wound up third of 21 with a time of 13:36. Ibrahimov clocked 13:25.23 and Herrera, 14:44.11. In the 5,000-meter finals last Saturday, Farah claimed his second Olympic gold medal with a time of 13:41.66.

Herrera, 33, stayed with the lead pack only up to the third lap then began to falter. “I’m proud of what Rene did,” said Silva-Netto who represented the country in the same 5,000-meter event at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. “He was with the lead group until the third lap. Usually, the leaders pull away early but Rene tried to stay on as long as he could. I just hoped the lead pack wouldn’t overtake him but they ran so fast in the last five laps.”

Silva-Netto said Farah’s act of sportsmanship was appreciated by the huge hometown crowd. “It was a sporting gesture for one of the lead runners to congratulate the tailender,” said Silva-Netto, now 73. “After all, the spirit of Olympism is taking part, not just winning. Rene did his best in spite of the odds. Farah gave a good Olympic gesture. After the run, I joked Rene that I never knew he had so many fans – 50,000 cheered when Mo went up to him and raised his hand. The crowd didn’t only cheer the leaders but also the last-placer.”

Silva-Netto said his time in 1968 was nowhere close to Herrera’s clocking which was a personal best but he finished higher. Silva-Netto clocked 17:10.2 and placed 13th in his heat. In the same Olympics, Silva-Netto competed in the 10,000-meter run, clocking 32:35.2 and the marathon with a time of 2:56:19.4.

“During my time, there was no limit to how many events you could join,” said Silva-Netto who coached Herman Suizo in marathon and Edward Lasquete in high jump at the 1992 Barcelona Games. “Now, there are qualifying times and it’s very difficult to enter in more than one event. Rene plans to compete in marathon in the next Olympics but that depends on his build-up and his speed. He trains with coaches Mario Castro and Luisito Archaga. Unfortunately, neither could accompany him to London as Mario attended to a family matter and besides, we could only send one coach. Luisito had to give way to Joseph Sy who is Marestella’s coach.” Aside from Herrera, the Philippines sent long jumper Marestella Torres to London for athletics.   

Herrera said he will work on his time in marathon – which covers a distance of 42.195 kilometers – in the next four years. “I can do it,” he said, referring to the qualifying standard time of 2:20. Silva-Netto said Herrera has to build up his mileage in training if he hopes to qualify in marathon in Rio de Janeiro. He noted that it’s a natural progression for a distance runner to move to marathon as he gets older and slower in the short courses.

“I don’t think it’s necessary for us to get a foreign coach,” said Silva-Netto. “What’s important is international exposure and training abroad. We want our athletes to train with some of the world’s best. If you train with champions, you become more confident of what you can do. We want to overcome the mental barrier and if our athletes are used to competing with the best in the world, they will surely improve.”

Herrera was the subject of a recent story by John Meyer published in the Denver Post. Meyer was moved by Herrera’s undying spirit in crossing the 5,000-meter finish line all alone. “Herrera ran the home stretch showered by appreciate cheers in the sold-out Olympic Stadium,” wrote Meyer. “When all the heats of the day had been run, Herrera had the slowest time of the 42 runners who finished. But he beat his previous personal best by seven seconds and kept going when it got really tough.”

Meyer continued: “Herrera is a member of the Philippine armed forces and trains in Baguio City, which is situated at 5,000 feet. He loves his sport and is a big fan of Kenyan runners, so big he named his 4-year-old son Ken. He got to run with some of them here, and it was a thrill.”

Associated Press sports columnist Tim Dahlberg also mentioned Herrera in his story. “It wasn’t exactly a race to celebrate back home though Rene Herrera did manage to set a personal best in a men’s 5,000-meter heat,” wrote Dahlberg. “That he finished dead last, 43 seconds behind the next finisher hardly mattered. He was an Olympian, even if the Olympics offer a most uneven playing field for most countries. There are 204 of them in London – 11 more than in the United Nations – and most will go home ‘losers.’ While the US and China dominate the medal tables, 128 countries have yet to win one – and probably won’t. That includes the Philippines, which hasn’t won a medal since boxer Mansueto Velasco got a silver in 1996 in Atlanta. The list of ‘losers’ at this Olympics is long, indeed, but it goes far beyond the medals table.”