Grospe leaps to new national mark

MANILA, Philippines — Apart from producing future champions, one of the main goals of the Philippine National Games is to break national records.

Mission accomplished.

And it was delivered by the fast-rising Leonard Grospe, who shattered the 17-year-old Philippine high jump record by his coach Sean Guevarra before dusk Wednesday at the PhilSports track oval in Pasig City.

In the worthiest effort yet in the six-day meet organized by the Philippine Sports Commission, the tall and scrawny 22-year-old Grospe leapt to 2.20 meters and eclipsed the 2.14m set by the very person instrumental to his meteoric emergence – Guevarra.

It was one of the many marks he set this year including rearranging the national indoor records twice with a 2.14m then 2.15m in the Asian Indoor Championships in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan last February.

Grospe had 2.18m in the Pinoy Athletics Summer Series meet in Lingayen, Pangasinan last June but it wasn’t recognized by World Athletics and didn’t count.

His PNG show made up for his frustrations in last May’s Phnom Penh Southeast Asian Games where he missed out on a medal after managing just a fifth-place finish with a 2.13m.

At the nearby pool yesterday, Puerto Princesa’s Quendy Fernandez claimed her sixth gold medal by towing her team of Maglia Jaye Dignadice, Pearl June Daganio and Cindy Fernandez to the 200m freestyle relay victory in a minute and 54.43 seconds.

The 18-year-old University of the Philippines standout and UAAP MVP earlier won in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke and 200m medley relay with the same group.