Reyes reigns in 800m, sparks 4-gold haul

PHNOM PENH – At five years old, King James Reyes lost his right arm after falling from a macopa tree back home in Loreto, Agusan del Sur.

He didn’t let it stop him from pursuing his dream.

Now 21 years old, Reyes is on top of the world after he spearheaded the Philippines’ three-gold charge with a glorious 800-meter T46 triumph yesterday in the 12th ASEAN Para Games at the Morodok Techo National Stadium here.

Edged out for the gold and settling for a pair of silver in his first two events in the 5000m Sunday and 1500m the next day, the Adamson varsity athlete saved his best for last, snaring the gold in two minutes and 13.22 seconds.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako kay God at sa aking pamilya, sa kanila po ako kumukuha ng lakas,” said Reyes, a devout Christian.

Reyes’ triumph was the first of four for Team Philippines in centerpiece athletics with Rosalie Torrefiel later topping the women’s javelin F11, Andrei Kuizon the men’s shot put F53/54 and Jerold Mangliwan the men’s 400m T52.

Torrefiel flattened the field with a magnificent 19.33m, or more than a full meter over Thai Ratnaningsih Ratnaningsih’s 18.05m.

Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Chin had a 17.98 for the bronze.

Kuizon, a former wheelchair basketball player who was trained by former national thrower Nixon Mas, heaved 7.27m in asserting his might over a field that included eventual silver winner Phe Phawat of Cambodia (4.17m).

The four-gold haul for the day raised the country’s harvest on the track to seven, surpassing six golds won last time.

“This event is full of surprises so we’ll just cross our fingers and hope we get more positive results,” said Philippine athletics coach Joel Deriada.