By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Eight Filipino track and field athletes headed by Southeast Asian Games medalists Hussein Loraña and Mariel Abuan are competing in the inaugural Asian U23 Athletics Championships in Ordos, China that started on Thursday, July 9 until July 12.
A gold medal winner in last year’s SEA Games in Thailand, Loraña will compete in the men’s 800 meters while also being part of the mixed 4x400m relay squad that also has Jazzpeer Arcenal, Naomi Johnson and Lea Ordinario.
Abuan will compete in the women’s high jump where she won the silver in the said biennial edition.
Arcenal will also see action in the men’s 400m hurdles, while Johnson and Ordinario will compete in the women’s 400m.
Kharis Pantonial is lined up in the women’s 400m; Ken Jardin in the men’s 100m and men’s long jump; and Edna Magtubo in the women’s 3000m steeplechase and women’s 10000m.
Accompanying the team are national team coaches Isidro Del Prado and Bonifacio Loraña, together with Philippine Athletics Inc. deputy secretary general Flubert Cosue.
The tournament is part of the team’s build-up in future elite events.
