Hoffman races to 2nd gold, Knott breaks 100 meter mark

MANILA, Philippines — Lauren Hoffman missed the Olympic standard but did enough to rule the women’s 400-meter hurdles of the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at the PhilSports oval in Pasig yesterday.

Hoffman, 25, went for the Paris Games standard of 54.85 seconds but had a misstep in the late stretch and ended up clocking 55.92, which was still good for her second gold in the meet.

She also came short of breaking the national mark of 55.72 she registered last month at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa in the five-day meet organized by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association and backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, ICTSI and Milo.

“My legs were a little tired from earlier so I think I didn’t get the time that I wanted but a win is a win and I was able to compete well and I was happy with that,” said Hoffman, who broke the 100m hurdles record Wednesday.

Kristina Knott, in contrast, clocked 11.2 in the morning heats and eclipsed the women’s hand time 100m mark of 11.3 submitted by Lerma Bulauitan Gabito in the National Open in Manila 24 years ago.

But Knott slowed down a bit (11.51) in clinching the gold in the final.

Battle-scarred Eric Cray likewise tried and missed the Paris standard but still dominated the men’s 400m hurdles in 50.51, way ahead of closest pursuer Connor Henderson (54.12).