RP medal-less but richer in experience

PHUKET, Thailand – Filipino sport climbers once again ended up without a medal although they showed marked improvement in their performance with more valuable lessons learned at the close of the ESPN Asian X Games Qualifier III at the Patong Beach here Sunday.

RP bicycle stuntman Mark Steven Schultz finished nowhere near the medal round but he gained the respect and admiration of his veteran rivals being the very first Filipino to compete in the event.

Nonetheless, the Philippine delegation will leave the scenic island province of this Southeast Asian country with good stories to tell with two Filipino junior climbers in Tagoy Ledesma and Andrew Robles winning gold medals in the Disney Channel-ESPN Junior X Games earlier.

Actually, the bulk of the RP adult team isn’t yet leaving the island as the group, together with the other X Games teams, intends to visit Phra Ng – a mountainous town 300 kilometers away from here – to test climbing routes there.

Anna Christina "Nana" Araneta missed by one climb a shot at the female speed climb gold in the strongest performance by an RP bet in the two-day extreme sports spectacle featuring over 250 athletes in the Asia Pacific region.

A free-lance architect by profession, the 28-year-old Araneta easily made it to the final 16 match-up competition, then reached the final eight with a victory over Korean bouldering champion Mi Sun Go before bowing out as she was barely beaten at the tap by Indonesian Yu Yun Yuniar.

Lissa Aireen Lesaca also advanced to the match play but bombed out right in the first match as she slipped at the start and was badly beaten by another Indonesia bet Evi Neliwait.

Jamie Javelosa, the other RP female climber, finished 19th in a starting field of 28.

The four RP males were all out after the preliminary round with Roberto Vasquez coming in 19th, Dennis Oliver Diaz 25th, Simon Sandoval 41st and Jeremiah Flores 44th and last.

Reigning World X Games champion Agung Etti Hendrawati of Indonesia won the female gold while compatriot Nur Rohman Rosyid copped the male gold.

"I think this is a bad year for me because I failed to win a medal here and in the recent Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpur. But I do believe these competitions will help me become a better climber. In the first place, we’re going out only for exposure and experience. Maybe, five more years and RP climbers will start delivering victories for the country," said Araneta, the country’s top female climber.