Elite tanker Barreto snares fourth PNG gold
Swimmer Miguel Barreto of Bulacan snared a fourth gold while aerobic gymnasts Dustin Kim Villafuerte and Airam Dan Dadulla of Rizal captured three gold medals each at the close of the Philippine National Games on Friday, Dec. 22, in various Metro Manila venues.
Barreto clocked 1 minute and 53.05 seconds in topping the men’s 200-meter freestyle event, his fourth following his early triumphs in 100m and 400m free, and 200m Individual Medley at the Philsports pool in Pasig City.
Barreto missed out on a fifth gold after sinking into a fifth-place finish in the 50m breaststroke in an event ruled by Santiago City’s Jalil Sephraim Taguinod, who timed in 29.72 seconds.
Over at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Villafuerte and Dadulla topped the male and female juniors individual event before teaming up to reign supreme in the mixed pair.
They later on joined forces with Clark Manalo to rule the trio event for their respective third gold medals.
Back at the Philsports Track Oval, many-time Southeast Asian Games silver medalist and national recordholder Mark Harry Diones did just enough to claim the men’s triple jump gold with a 15.00-meter effort.
Mandaluyong’s Rolly Benosa Olivarez took the silver with a 14.73m while national long jumper Janry Ubas claimed the bronze with a 14.53m.
In chess at the GSIS Gymnasium, Dasmarinas emerged a cut above the rest after raking in six of the possible 12 gold medals at stake, following three-gold hauls each from Woman Grandmaster candidate Kylen Mordido and International Master Michael Concio, Jr.