By REYNALD MAGALLON
CAPAS, Tarlac –The scorching summer heat is just about to get even hotter as the Philippine Athletics Championships fire off Thursday, May 1, with no less than Paris Olympians, national team veterans and up-and-coming athletes out to strut their wares in a thrilling four-day competition at the New Clark City Stadium here.
Over 800 athletes are set to see action including around 60 bets from other countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, India and Papua New Guinea but all eyes should be on the country’s very own track stars in Olympians John Cabang Tolentino, Lauren Hoffman and Kristina Knott.
The country’s top guns are certainly bringing their A-games in the competition since the National Open dangles valuable points for their qualification points for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September.
Hoffman is expected to provide the highlight in the opening day where a total of 24 golds will be at stake, including the women’s 400m hurdles where she is gunning for a third straight gold after ruling the last two editions in Ilagan City in Isabela in 2023 and in Pasig City in 2024.
The 26-year-old hurdler and national record holder is also looking to use the competitions as a springboard to future competitions, like the world meet and the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, this December.
Although a favorite in her race, Hoffman is seen to face stiff competition especially since she is coming off an Achilles injury and her opponents, which included former Asian women’s 400-meter hurdles champion Robyn Brown, are surely eager to make an impression with the National Open also serving as part of the selection process for the national team for the SEA Games.
“It’s been an uphill battle with the Achilles issues this year but things are slowly trending upward,” said Hoffman.
The opening day events begin with the women open 10000m walk and men U18 5000m walk in the morning session before Hoffman and Brown’s 400m hurdles qualifying round at 2 p.m. and then the finals at 6:40 p.m.
Knott, a Tokyo Olympian and SEAG double-gold winner, likewise, is seeing action in the opening day when she races in the women’s 200m qualifying round in the afternoon and then the finals at night
Other medal events are men’s 400m hurdles, men’s 200m, men and women’s open discus throw, men’s long jump, and men’s and women’s open 5000m along with several finals for the U18 categories.
