Lifter Kitan makes Rio Paralympics

MANILA, Philippines - Powerlifter Agustin Kitan caught the last bus to the Rio Paralympics, bringing to five the Team Philippines’ delegation in the event set Sept. 7-18.

Kitan, a veteran of the Athens and London editions, got a slot in the men’s -52kg division a few weeks before the Paralympics.

The 38-year-old pride of Bauko, Mountain Province joined fellow powerlifter Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta, table tennis ace Josephine Medina, swimmer Ernie Gawilan, and athletics bet Jerrold Pete Mangliwan in the lean contingent that will seek to break a 16-year medal drought in the quadrennial Games.

Ancheta, bronze medalist in 2000 in Sydney, will aim to deliver another medal in the +86 kg play on her fifth straight Paralympics stint while Medina will try to land in the podium in the C8 class women’s singles after placing fourth in 2012. Gawilan, a multimedalist in the 2015 Asean Para Games, will vie in the S8 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke. Mangliwan will compete in the T52 100-m and 400-m wheelchair racing.

The five will be accompanied by eight officials and coaches in Rio, as they bid for a medal just like weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in the recent Olympics.

The Rio-bound Paralympians attended Holy Mass yesterday in a simple send-off at PhilSports.