Fil-Am high jumper tries forte in SEAG

NAY PYI TAW – Fil-American Tyler Cruz-Herrera Ruiz learned to jump by watching his high jump idols, Olympians Jamie Nieto and Jessie Williams, on YouTube.

“Jessie Williams was my inspiration,” said the 6-2 Ruiz, 22, son of a Filipina graphic designer in California and a Mexican-Cuban father who is training consultant for medical equipment and computers also in California.

Williams attended University of Southern California where Ruiz is a member of the varsity team competing the US NCAA Division 1.

Williams would go to the USC to teach him the finer points of the high jump.

When he won the bronze medal last May in the Pacific 12 Conference with an effort of 2.18m, his strength and conditioning coach, Ryan Flaherty, told him of an opportunity to compete for the land of his mom in the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.

At that time, Flaherty was being tapped by the Philippine Sports Commission to be the strength and conditioning coach of the national athletic team.

Flaherty trained Ruiz from May to July this year before he came to Manila to join the athletes in their Baguio training.

The American Olympic coach had to leave after barely three weeks after he was down with a severe case of diarrhea, although it was really a commitment to meet with a Kenyan athletic official that prompted him to cut short his Phl stint.

In October, he arranged for the processing of the passport of Ruiz and arrived Dec. 10 on a solo flight to Manila.

“I came here alone but I was met by lots of relatives of my mom at the airport,” said Ruiz. “I’m staying alternately with them at the Fort Bonifacio City, Las Piñas and in Quezon City.”

Ruiz, who graduated with a business degree, major in finance, from USC, uses his mother’s maiden name, Cruz-Herrera, which he never used in his public documents in the US. He was simply called Tyler Christian Ruiz.

In an interview with The Philippine STAR  two weeks ago, Flaherty said he was looking for at least nine gold medals for his athletes who underwent intensive training under him the last two months.

“They are in the best shape and they have improved on certain techniques which will help them win the gold in the SEA Games,” Flaherty said.

One of them could be his protégé, Tyler Christian Cruz-Herrera Ruiz.