Gold medalists Beram, Toledo take spotlight
KUAL A LUMPUR – Entering the 29th Southeast Games, Trenten Beram and Aries Toledo were just a pair of nobodies in the national track and field team.
That all changed Wednesday night as the unheralded Filipino duo hogged the spotlight with impressive debuts in the biennial meet’s athletics competition at the colossal National Stadium inside the KL Sports City here.
Rookies in the 11-nation regional sports showcase, the FilipinoAmerican Beram and Toledo stamped their class in the men’s 200-meter run and men’s decathlon, respectively, boosting the haul of the country’s athletic campaigners to four mints.
Long-distance runner Mary Joy Tabal ruled the women’s marathon and Eric Shawn Cray retained his men’s 400-meter hurdles title earlier for the national squad’s first two gold medals.
First on the winner’s podium was Toledo, a former sprinter who bested 2015 Singapore SEA Game silver medalist Jeson Ramil Cid to earn his spot here, humbling 2014 Incheon Asian Games decathlon king Suttisak Singkon in topping the grueling discipline with 6,894 points.
Trailing Singkon by nine points entering the 10th and final leg, the dusky Filipino decathlete raced ahead of everyone else in the four-man finals, handily topping the men’s 1,500-meter run in four minutes and 39.80 seconds. This was more than enough time Toledo needed in overhauling the tall and lumbering Thai, who checked in third in the run in 5:10.53 behind Vietnam’s Bui Van Su (4:54.06) and settled for the silver (6,678). Su took the bronze (6,207).
“Nananalangin po ako sa itaas na huwag po akong bumigay kasi sa javelin (throw, the ninth event) pa lang sumasakakit na yong buong katawan ko,” said Toledo, who was virtually wrapped all over his body with tape.
“Sabi ko po sa sarili ko: para ito sa bayan, para ito sa bayan kaya di ako dapat magpatalo.”
Living up to his top seeding in the heats, Beram rocketed in the final 100-meters and left the field, including Malaysian century dash champion Khairul Hafiz Jantan, to win the men’s 200-meter race in a new national record of 20.84 seconds.