Perez on course for triple gold medal

LOS BANOS — Barring any major disaster, diver Sheila Mae Perez could be the first Filipino triple gold medalist in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games.

Already the country’s first double gold medal winner following her victories in the 3m springboard synchronized with Ceseil Domenios and 3m springboard, Perez, 19, will shoot for a third gold medal in the 1m springboard today on the final day of diving competitions at the Trace Aquatics Center here.

And she’s keeping her fingers crossed.

"I’m already happy I won two gold medals," said Perez, who has become the darling of the crowd here, in Filipino. "But I’ll try to win a third gold medal and make our country proud."

The Davao City-born lass, however, will face tough opposition in Leong Mun Yee, who is halfway to a 10m platform gold after topping the preliminaries, and 3m springboard silver medalist Hoang Thanh Tra of Vietnam.

Also out to foil Perez’s bid in the event making a return after it was scratched out of the 2003 Hanoi Games calendar are Thais Skrutai Tommaoros and Neeranuch Chantakulcholtsea. — Joey Villar