Iloilo javelin thrower rips ASG record
SINGAPORE – A fisherman’s son from Iloilo made history in the ninth ASEAN Schools Games by clinching the Philippines’ 11th gold medal in a new ASG record in the javelin throw. James Lozañes, a grade 11 student of Estancia National High School, threw the spear to a distance of 66.39 meters in the 700g javelin, eclipsing the previous record of 62.28m set in 2015. What made his feat remarkable was that his javelin landed outside the 65m perimeter line. “Akala siguro nila na hindi mabrebreak yung record kaya ang measurement lang nila ng distance ay hanggang 65 meters lang (Maybe, they thought no one can beat the record this year so they set a measurement of only 65 meters),” said Anthony Valdez, one of the athletics coaches for the Philippines.
Three months ago at the Binirayan Sports Complex in San Jose, Antique, the 17-year-old Iloilo native also broke a Palarong Pambansa record after he registered 59.46 in the 500g javelin, topping the previous national meet’s record of 57.81 by Bryan Pacheco.
“Hindi ko iniexpect na malalagpasan ko ang record (I didn’t expect to surpass the record),” said Lozañes, who is playing in his first international competition.
It was a magical end to Lozañes’ campaign as he made the most of his first and last stint in the ASEAN Schools Games as he is turning 18 this year.
“Sobrang saya po pakinggan ang ating national anthem na tinutugtog during the awarding (I was extremely happy hearing our national anthem being played during the awarding rites),” he said.
Lozañes came from a far-flung municipality of Iloilo province, but he never shied away from the limelight, outperforming Tingjia Wang of Singapore (59.76) and Pornpraphan Dechochai (59.49). Wang snatched the silver while Dechochai salvaged the bronze.
On his first attempt, Lozañes registered a distance of 55m then followed by a 58m throw on his second.
“Hindi pa kasi ako galit nun (I was still not angry at that time),” Lozañes said with a smile.
“After nung nakuha ko yung 66.39m distance, umiiling na ang mga kalaban ko eh (After I recorded 66.39m, my rivals just shook their head in disbelief),” said the second to the youngest child of Jinky, a housewife, and Marianeto, a fisherman.