Lerma Bulauitan and Marestella Torres duplicated their 1-2 finish in the tough Asian Championships long jump finals in Sri Lanka last month. Ernie Candelario lost by a mere breath to a Sri Lankan runner in the 400-meter final and Sean Guevara bagged the bronze in the high jump.
Under the strict Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association standards the four failed to give the numbers required to at least assure them of the bronze medals in the Asian Games in their final tuneup stint.
But athletics chief Go Teng Kok pointed out that, under several circumstances and the very tough 14-nation field in Singapore, his wards did just fine.
"Lerma and Marestella beat an Australian long jumper, Ernie was just .01 seconds behind but far ahead than the Thai third placer and Sean showed a big heart. They all passed the grades in my book," he said.
Candelario, who ran in 46.70 seconds, and Guevara who cleared 2.07 meters, according to Go, wanted to go all-out for the golds but opted to take it easy so as not to aggravate their old injuries.
"They have just recovered, they must not over-exert themselves. But in the Asian Games, I believe they will give their very best for the country."
Bulauitan and Torres, like their two compatriots, wished to better their numbers in the Asian Championships but the strong rains early in the morning before the finals made the long jump runway soggy.
"Lerma and Marestella jumped 6.28 ad 6.12, respectively. But they were advised not to try harder than that because it’s risky to suffer injuries at this time when only a month is left before the Asian Games."