Juico thought Cray would be in final

Athletics chief Philip Ella Juico did not plan on going home early as head of the Philippine delegation to the World Athletics Championship in Beijing which had just one participant – 400m hurdler Eric Cray.

But when Cray failed to advance by getting eliminated in his heat, both he and Cray had to change plans, rebooking their tickets and left Beijing early following the Fil-American’s dismal performance.

Juico said his hopes were that Cray, whose only international exposure was the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore where he won the 400m hurdles gold and the 100m dash, would make it as far as the finals. But those hopes appear to be misplaced or, at best, too optimistic.

“I was very confident that he will make the finals that’s why I booked a (return) flight after the finals,” Juico said.

The 28-year-old Cray finished sixth among eight runners in Heat 4 last Saturday at the Bird’s Nest Stadium with a time of 50.09 seconds. His personal best is 49.12 seconds, which he accomplished in a meet in the Cayman Islands to become the first Filipino to qualify in next year’s Rio Olympics.

After the run, Cray left for his Texas home Sunday while Juico took a flight back to Manila Monday. The championships will finish on Sunday.

When asked what Cray’s thoughts were after the race, Juico said the sprinter offered little explanation.

“He just told me that ‘things like that happen’,” said Juico, who had been trying to transform the underachieving Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) into a potent association since becoming president last year.

The winner of Cray’s heat, Turkey’s Yasmani Capello, made it to the finals but his qualifying time of 48.46, his personal best, was the slowest among the final eight.

Juico said that Cray’s performance made him realize that “there’s a lot of things to be done” in the PATAFA.

“From what I saw, I think he had the irresistible urge to go faster in the final two hurdles,” said Juico. But Cray was surely out of his league in the event that featured the world’s best hurdlers.