STA. CRUZ, LAGUNA – Is Fil-Am sensation Caleb Stuart for real?
Less than a week after hammering the Southeast Asian Games and national hammer throw records, Stuart will have a chance to display what he is truly capable off as he eyes no less than two gold medals in Thursday’s start of the 2015 Philippine National Open-Invitational Athletics Championships at the San Luis Sports Complex here.
Stuart, a 6-2, 250-pound former University of California-Riverside standout whose mother Rowena Pineda-Stuart is a native of Pampanga, have already earned a spot in the national team seeing action in the 28th Southeast Asian Games slated June 5-16 in Singapore after a record-shattering effort in the Ben Brown meet in Los Angeles last weekend.
In LA, Stuart heaved a 68.66 meters to not only surpass his personal best of 67.24 but also destroy the current SEAG mark of 62.23 held by Thai Tantiphong Petchaiya and the national record f 61.69 owned by Arniel Ferrera.
Stuart's personal best in shot put — 17.88m — is also a little over the current SEAG record of 17.64m owned by another Thai Thawin Khachin and the national mark of 16.74m by Eleazer Sunang.
And now Stuart is using this four-day meet as a validation as he is why the sport's next best thing since Fil-Mexican Josephin dela Vina captured the golds in the 1966 Asian Games and Asian Championship and finished 11th in the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
"My goal is to win two gold medals in the SEA Games," said Stuart, who was in the country for the first time for a week-long stay before flying back to the United States where he will resume training with new coach Shaun Mcginley.
Including the two Stuart is eyeing to dominate, 17 golds will be up for grabs in the Day One alone, including the women's 10,000-meter run, which will officially usher in the event at 6 a.m.
"Aside from Caleb (Stuart) and the current member of the national team, we're hoping to discover some new talents in this event," said track and field chief Philip Ella Juico.
Renato Unso, Juico's secretary-general, for his part, said all the 1,500 participants have arrived yesterday including foreign athletes from 12 countries eyeing a big share of the total 73 mints at stake.
China, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Hong Kong, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia at Myanmar are the foreign countries confirming participation.
Myanmar SEAG gold medal winners Edgardo Alejan, Jr., Archand Bagsit, Isidro del Prado, Jr. and Juluis Nierras, Jr. (4x400m relay), Jesson Ramil Cid (decathlon), Christopher Ulboc, Jr. (3,000m steeplechase), Eric Cray (400m hurdles), Archand Christian Bagsit (400m run) and Henry Dagmil (long jump) will also use this event to formally clinch their spots in the Singapore-bound team.
Also expected to formalize their entry to the team are Myanmar silver medallists Mervin Guarte (800m), Narciza Atienza (heptathlon), Ferrera (hammer throw), Edgardo Alejan, Jr. (800m) and bronze medallists Jessica Barnard (3,000m steeplechase), Eric Panique (marathon) and Riezel Buenaventura (pole vault).
The event is being organized by the Juico-led Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association and Philippine Sports Commission and backed by Laguna Water, Pacific Online Scratch It KaskaSwerte, Papa John's Pizza, Foton Philippines, PCSO, Smart, PLDT, Summit Natural Drinking Water and supported by SSS, Pagcor, Milo, Gatorade, L Time Studio and Asics Watch.