Juico hopes athletics to medal in AG

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association president Philip Juico has his priorities all lined up barely four days after assuming his new role.

“Our main focus is the Asian Games,” said Juico during yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

It was the first public function for the new Patafa chief, also the agrarian reforms secretary in the Cory Aquino administration and chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission under Fidel V. Ramos.

Juico is laying down his priorities on the table, starting off with the Asian Games participation in September in Incheon, South Korea.

“The measure of success is always about winning medals. We hope to win one or two medals in this Asian Games,” he said.

Juico was still with the private sector when sprinter Lydia de Vega won the gold medal in the Asian Games in 1982 in New Delhi and in 1986 in Seoul.

He also remembers Elma Muros winning the 400m hurdles bronze in 1990 in Beijing and the long jump bronze in 1994 in Hiroshima.

“Those were our last medals in athletics in the Asian Games,” said the 66-year-old Juico, hoping to break the long dry spell in Incheon.

But to have a better chance, Juico said it’s very important to have long jump specialist Marestella Torres included in the lineup.

Torres, gold medalist in long jump in the 2009 Asian Championships in Guangzhou, gave birth to her first child last January but has shown great determination in making it to Incheon.

However, the 33-year-old Torres has yet to meet the standard of 6.37 meters set by the Asian Games task force. She is just a fraction short off the said mark.

“So we’re insisting that Marestella be given leniency and leeway. Maybe we can bend the rules but not break them. Remember, she got pregnant and gave birth last January.

“But she’s been training for 18 weeks now and she did 6.26 meters in Hong Kong and 6.14 in Vietnam just recently. Of the nine or 10 athletes we will sent to the Asian Games, she has the best chance to win a medal,” Juico added.

The task force has set a deadline of Aug. 1 for the different NSAs (national sports associations) to name their athletes to the Asian Games although the organizers have set a deadline of Aug. 15.

“Maybe we can give her a little more time,” said Juico, adding that one other priority for Patafa is to generate additional funding from the private sector.

“We are doing our work. We will try to generating resources from private sector. It will be a management approach,” said Juico.

Juico is also working on the Philippines being awarded the 4x400 meter relay gold in the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta.

Malaysia won the gold but was later stripped of the victory after one of its runners tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. The Philippines took the silver but until now has yet to receive the gold.

“It is our duty and obligation to recover that gold and go into the record books as the official winner of that event,” said Juico.