Cabang pulls out of hurdles repechage

PARIS – Hurdler John Cabang’s Paris Olympics campaign ended abruptly on Tuesday after he suffered an injury minutes before his scheduled repechage run in the men’s 110m hurdles event at the Stade de France.

The Filipino athlete was set to compete in the repechage at 4:50 p.m. in a bid to advance to the semifinals. However, in a heartbreaking Instagram post, Cabang apologized to his supporters, revealing that he was unable to compete due to the unexpected setback.

“I am so sorry. I’m not gonna be able to run due to an injury,” he wrote. “Thanks to all the people who supported me. Laban Pilipinas!”

His Olympic debut took place on Sunday where he finished sixth in his heat, qualifying for the repechage. With his withdrawal, the Philippines’ track and field stint in Paris has officially concluded.

Fellow hurdler Lauren Hoffman was eliminated in the repechage, while pole vault sensation EJ Obiena secured a fourth-place finish in the finals.

Philippine athletics owns two medals in the Olympics – bronzes courtesy of high jumper Simeon Toribio in the 1932 Olympics and 400m hurdler Miguel White in the 1936 Berlin Games.