Newcomers steal show; Thais corner 11 golds

A pair of newcomers exited in a blaze of glory even as Thailand capped its sterling performance in the Milo National Open International Invitationals which drew to a close yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Track and Field Oval.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Rene Herrera pulled off a shocker of a win in the men’s 1,500 meters as he stunned John Lozada, the event’s gold medallist in the 2001 Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games.

Unleashing a strong finishing kick in the final 300 meters, Herrera clocked three minutes and 55.5 seconds to edge the fancied Lozada, who settled for a silver medal in 3:56.40, three days after ruling the 3,000-m steeplechase event.

"Hindi ko akalaing tatalunin ko si John (Lozada) dahil nung nagte-training kami sa Baguio maganda ‘yung oras niya," said Herrera, who is touted to fill in the shoes of Eduardo Buenavista in the 3,000-m steeplechase.

"Pero nung huling 300 meters, pinaspasan ko na dahil halos magkadikit lang kami. Masayang-masaya ako dahil parang birthday gift ko na ito sa sarili ko," added Herrera, who will turn 24 on May 24.

A neophyte like Herrera, Mary Grace Melgar became the event’s first triple gold medalist by anchoring Philippine Navy to the women’s 4x100-m relay victory and topping her favorite 400-m hurdle event.

Melgar, a 22-year-old prized find from La Union, made a fitting follow-up to her women’s 400-m run win Saturday by copping another gold in the 400-m hurdles where she finished with a time of 1:01.78. She beat Julie Rose Forbes (1:05.10) and Virgie Jaro (1:07.36).

She then teamed up with Forbes, national team mainstay Mercedita Manipol and another triple gold medalist Nea Ann Barcena, who earlier won the gold in the 800-m and 1,500-m, to cap her remarkable performance.

"Ang totoo hindi niya talaga event ito, nag-shift lang siya dito from 100-m hurdles dahil alam naming wala siyang kapana-panalo sa event na iyon sa international competitions," said Jojo Posadas, Melgar’s coach.

But the event, sponsored by Milo and the Philippine Sports Commission, simply belonged to the Thais, who came home with a whopping 11-gold medal haul despite fielding in a lean but mean 25-man delegation.

Suphan Wongsriphuck delivered Thailand’s 10th gold medal with a win in the men’s 110-m hurdles, clocking in 14.70 to beat national record holder Alonzo Jardin (15.06) of the Philippine Navy and Gilbert Gujar (15.27) of the Air Force.

Thailand’s 11th gold medal came from its men’s 4x100-m relay team, which beat its local rivals in lopsided fashion.