Pole vaulter Natalie Uy smashes Philippine record at US tourney

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the limitations of training under quarantine, pole vault ace Natalie Uy dished out a record-smashing performance when she returned to action at the Acadia Invitational in Greenville, North Carolina.

Uy cleared 4.30 meters at the new UCS Pink Panther pit to break the Philippine mark of 4.25m she herself posted on the way to winning the 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medal in record fashion.

This augurs well for the 25-year-old Uy, who will be aiming to reach the entry standard of 4.70 meters by the time the qualification process for the Tokyo Olympics resumes.

“She’s determined to make it to the Olympics,” Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico said of Uy, who placed sixth in a topnotch field led by American stars Sandi Morris and Katie Nageotte.

Morris ruled the nine-women competition held at her facility with 4.81m over Nageotte, the 2018 US Indoor champion, who also submitted 4.81m but had one more tries.

Juico said Patafa is supporting the Olympic bid of Uy, who plans to relocate her training base to Atlanta.

Rio Olympics silver medalist Sandi Morris ruled the nine-women competition held at her own UCS Spirit Pink Panther Pit facility with 4.81m. Katie Nageotte, the 2018 US Indoor champion, also had 4.81m but had more tries than Morris.

Uy wound up sixth overall with her effort, which also matched the personal best she made while training in Spain in 2018.

“It was really, really hard to train during quarantine. You train by yourself in the gym or in the tracks so having that motivation to have that real workout was really, really tough during that time,” Uy said on runnerspace.com.

“To be able to be back, match my PR (personal record), be around people, have that motivation again, it really makes all the sacrifices I made during the quarantine worth it,” she added.

Uy is seeking to join fellow pole vaulter EJ Obiena in the Philippine Olympic team that also includes gymnast Caloy Yulo and boxers Eumir Marcial and Irish Magno so far.

Athletics peers Kristina Knott (sprints), Willie Morrison (shot put), and Eric Cray (400m hurdles) also similarly vying for berths to Tokyo.