Fil-Am blazing BMX ride gives Phl first gold

INCHEON, South Korea – With one burst of power, Danny Caluag exploded from the starting gate and raced ahead of the rest of the field in a blaze of speed in all three sessions to win the Philippines first gold medal in the 17th Asian Games.

It takes only 35 to 37 seconds to finish a race, and sports officials and a coterie of Filipino supporters watched with bated breath as the Fil-American from California showcased his daredevil drives at top speed to remain up front from tip-off to finish and waived Philippine flags in an explosion of joy as he completed the motocross cycling (BMX) event on a man-made circuit at the foot of the Incheon hills.

Caluag’s gold, with two silver medals from wushu, and five bronze medals from wushu, taekwondo and archery, raised the Philippines standing among 45 countries to 22nd and boosted hopes of a bigger finish with golden opportunities in boxing and taekwondo in the last 16 hours of the quadrennial meet.

“It’s a great day for the Philippines,” said a beaming Caluag, born of Filipino emigres from Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. “I’m happy to win the first gold medal for the Philippines.”

“His feat opened the door for more golds for our country,” said cycling president and Tagaytay Rep. Bambol Tolentino.

Caluag topped the first race in 35.277 seconds, the second in 35.366 and the third in 35.431, comfortably ahead of Japan’s Masahiro Sampei (35.444-35.486-36.104) and Zhu Yan of China (37.242-37.072-35.609).

His younger brother Christopher John was fourth with a clocking of 36.427-37.633-37.337.

“The moment he won the first race, there was no doubt on my mind that he would win all three races and the gold,” said his coach, Fil-American Gregory John Romero.

It was the biggest feat by Caluag for the Philippines after he won the Myanmar Southeast Asian Games gold in 2013.

He was disqualified to compete for the Philippines in the 2011 Palembang (Indonesia) SEA Games because he used an American license.

He competed for the first time in the 2012 London Olympics where he, as the only Asian entry, finished last among 32 entries.

Romero, who coached him in the last two months leading to London, was not disheartened at the dismal finish as he saw in the 25-year-old nursing student from California the heart of a champion, who has lost count of the big and small bruises, bumps and spills he sustained in the circuits of the US.

BMX debuted as an Olympic sport in Beijing with only a few world champions competing. In London, Caluag was thrust into the limelight in the company of world champions from Europe and North America.

After London, he embarked on a personal mission to win the gold medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with the help of Romero, a Fil-American who coached a male silver medalist and a female bronze medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“What we did (technically) is apply reverse engineering,” said Romero.

Looking at videos of the London Olympic event, they went back to the drawing boards and looked at the race from the end to the start. He explained that to finish first, he must start ahead.

“Our focus is in the starting gate,” said Romero, who noted Caluag started late in the London Olympics and finished dead last among 32 participants.

“We also looked at various components like nutrition, power and speed training,” he added.

The $24-million course, with its eight-meter descent from the starting gate, complete with dirt, bumps and S-bends, put premium on speed on the downhill drive from the starting gate.

The winner from the first race gets the chance to select which of the eight gates he would take off from for easy maneuver and perfect headstart, with the second to the last placers making their choices in that order.

After the first race, Caluag chose Gate No. 1 at the inner rail, because it gave him more leeway to maneuver to gain the lead, said Romero.

In the next race, he shifted to Gate 2, a technical ploy to avert whatever plan his opponents might hatch up to grab the upperhand. In the third, he used the third lane.

Whatever the lane, Caluag established control with a flying start from eight meters down and drove relentlessly over dangerous hairpin curves, top-of-table passes, mounds two meters apart and up-and-down dirt roads that require both speed and skills to finish without an accident.

He finished with flying colors. Next on his journey is Rio.