MANILA, Philippines — In capping off a gold rush of a hosting, the Philippines has officially broken its previous record for number of gold medals won in the Southeast Asian Games.
The Philippines previously turned in a rather unimpressive resume of 23 gold medals, 33 silvers and 64 bronzes to go with a humbling sixth-place finish in the previous SEA Games hosted by Malaysia in 2017.
And in 2005, its most successful season to date, the country came away with a haul of 113 golds, 84 silvers and 94 bronzes.
As of this writing, the Philippines has clinched 115 golds, 85 silvers and 93 bronze medals in the 30th edition of the biennial meet.
The campaign was a massive success for the host country from the get-go, as Team Philippines went on to exceed their last SEA Games gold medal haul in just the second day.
This was due in part to the fact that a number of the sports featured were played for the first time in the history of the games. In the SEA Games, host countries have the advantage of choosing the sports for the final roster.
Consequently, these were the same events where Team Philippines earned multiple gold medals, such as arnis, dancesport and Kurash.
The Filipinos last won the overall champion when they also hosted the 23rd SEA Games back in 2005.
Officials from the Philippine Olympic Committee have already declared that the Philippines is closing in on their next overall championship title in the games.
Amid criticisms over the Philippines' haphazard preparation, the 30th SEA Games were an otherwise rewarding campaign for the country, which fielded 1,115 Filipino athletes and 753 coaches and officials in 56 sports.