Calano keeps faith
God gave me strength in this competition
CAPAS CITY — Six days before his event, javelin thrower Melvin Calano’s concentration was challenged by typhoon “Tisoy” as their house in Paracale, Camarines Norte was destroyed.
Already in the Athletes Village for the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the 28-year old Calano was helpless when his wife narrated the story over phone and just drew strength from God to stay strong as he was about to face the biggest battle of his life.
Calano bagged his first SEA Games gold medal after topping the men’s javelin throw event last Monday to become one of the revelations for the Philippine athletics team here.
He was teary eyed when he faced the media after his triumphant throw.
“Our house was completely devastated by a cyclone. My wife called and told me ‘Pa, our house is gone,’” said Calano as he recalled his conversations with his wife the day when Typhoon wreaked havoc in the Bicol region.
“I cried but I told them not to lose hope because God is in control. And I’m happy my family is safe,” he added.
His faith and focus helped him to conquer the men’s javelin throw event and brought home the gold medal.
With a distance of 72.86 meters, Calano finished on top over Indonesia’s Abd Hafiz (71.00) and Vietnam’s Hoai Van Nguyen (70.88), who settled for silver and bronze, respectively.
The Filipino bet admitted that incident prompted him to prepare more for the competition and even claimed the victory.
“God gave me strength in this competition,” said Calano, whose gold-medal finish will reward him P850,000 as incentive from President Duterte, the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.