By MARK REY MONTEJO
LAOAG CITY – Just an hour after sunrise, an emotional Chrisia Mae Tajarros of Eastern Visayas was in a flood of tears as she became the first gold-medal winner of the 2025 Palarong Pambansa here at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium (FEMMS) Monday morning, May 26.
Wishing to become an astronaut someday, the 13-year-old Tajarros topped the girls’ secondary 3,000m event by clocking in 10 minutes and 18.6 seconds – eclipsing her previous time of 10:39.72 in Cebu edition — to claim her first-ever Palaro gold and avenge her setback last year
CARAGA’s Mary Mae Magbanua (10:48.4) and Ilocos Region’s Nathalie Faye Miguel (10:50.4) settled for the silver and bronze medal honors, respectively, in the annual sportsfest backed by Department of Education (DepEd) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Tajarros, whose parents are fish vendors, revealed that she cried because winning a Palaro gold was the beginning of a grand plan of wearing the country’s tricolors in the future.
And it was a big start and a great motivation.
“Tapos yung pag-iyak ko, ginagawa ko na lang motivation para makuha yung gintong medalya sa Palarong Pambansa [at] pangarap ko po mag-Olympics para matulungan ‘yong pamilya ko,” said incoming Grade 9 student at Tanauan National High School.
It was also a quiet sort of redemption for Tajarros as she settled for a silver finish in last year’s Cebu edition where she ran barefoot, thus making her a crowd darling.
But the San Miguel, Leyte native was beaten by hometown bet Asia Paraase for the top podium.
“Worth it po ngayon yung pinagpaguran ko kasi nakarami na po [akong takbo], nagkaroon ng muscle pain tapos akala ko po noong regional namin, hindi na po ako maka-Palaro dahil mayroon po akong iniinda,” Tajarros continued.
“Gusto ko po sumuko, pero sabi ni coach na huwag, nasa iyo naman yun kung gagawin mo o hindi,” she added.
Next for the boxer-turned-swimmer-turned-runner is the 1,500m event this Thursday, May 29, at the same venue.
In secondary boys’ long jump final, Eastern Visayas’ Efosa John Paul Aguinaldo and CALABARZON’s MJ Lora finished tied at 6.90m but the former was able to seal the gold after listing a second best of 6.83m, while the latter only had 6.59m.
The gold in the girls’ secondary class discus throw went to Bicol’s Courtney Trianga (36.72m) with NCR’s Heart Duarte (35.73m) and Northern Mindanao’s Baby Alforo (34.69) finishing second and third, respectively.
Meanwhile in girls’ elementary discus throw, CALABARZON’s Sam Garcia bagged the gold after heaving 33.97m, while CARAGA’s Shanee Miel P Guillarte took the silver (30.96m).
Northern Mindanao’s Khint Gimarangan stood out in the boys’ elementary long jump that saw him leap to a distance 5.50m to take the gold.
In boys’ secondary football, SOCCSKSARGEN got off to a strong start as Jake Into and Bryan Sanchez led the assault and beat Central Luzon, 3-1. On the other hand, Bicol Region notched a 6-0 romp of Bangsamoro, while CALABARZON escaped Northern Mindanao, 2-1.
In weightlifting, CALABARZON’s Matthew Diaz reigned supreme in the boys’ secondary 48kg class in front her aunt in sport icon and director Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo at the Laoag Central Elementary School.
Diaz flashed his lifting prowess with a 73kg in Snatch, while 93kg in Clean & Jerk, while following behind were Zamboanga Peninsula’s Generosmel Cortez and NCR’s Rayney Joy Espina, who bagged the silver and bronze, respectively.
