Barefoot runner breaks mark
DUMAGUETE CITY – Western Visayas’ barefoot runner Angelica de Josef destroyed a track record that was unbreakable for almost two decades even as National Capital Region’s Regina Erin Castrillo kept her relentless assault at the pool in the Palarong Pambansa here at the Gov. Mariano Perdices Sports Complex yesterday.
Castrillo, 12-year-old grade schooler at St. Therese, registered her fourth record-breaker and harvested her Palaro best sixth gold medal after reigning supreme in the 100-meter butterfly in a minute, 6.92 seconds, erasing the record she herself registered in the morning prelims when she swam a 1:08.29.
The old standard before Castrillo, who wore a black swim cap that bore the Singapore flag she got as a souvenir from a friend in a Southeast Asian age-group competition last year, went on record-rearranging mode was 1.09.38 Mimaropa’s Francis Pillado set two years back in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte.
Castrillo will have a chance to win her seventh gold, and perhaps another record-setter, that would make her the hands down choice as the Most Outstanding Athlete in the elementary division when she competes in the the 50-m freestyle today.
“I’ll go for it,” said a shy Castrillo, who swam under the tutelage of former Palaro multiple gold medalist and SEA Games silver medal winner Luica Dacanay.
Deciding to wear nothing but her bare, callous feet, De Josef, for her part, joined the record bashing spree after she shattered the 18-year-old mark of 2.18.3 NCR’s Dely Condes forged in Lingayen, Pangasinan by clocking 2:17.2 in secondary 800-m.
It was the second record posted by De Josef since she also re-arranged last year the elementary girls 800-m record of 2:24.38 set by Western Visayas Lovelyn Pamatian in Tarlac two years ago with a new one, 2:18.8, this edition.
So impressive was De Josef, a 14-year-old Grade Eight student at Monfort Technical School in Lezo, Aklan, that she did it barefoot.
“In the regionals in Roxas City, she used a spiked shoes and finished only with a bronze. That’s why she wanted to run barefoot this time,” said Sherlyn Mae de Josef in Filipino, speaking in behalf of her younger, shy sister.
NCR’s Catherine Bondad remained a pristine five-of-five after she claimed the 800-m free gold for secondary girls in 9:55.74 while Central Luzon’s Rafael Barreto topped the elementary boys 100-m fly in 1:03.18 to join the quintuple gold medal winner’s club.
Castrillo eclipsed the six-year record of 2:37.87 NCR’s Ingrid Illustre set in Koronadal, South Cotabato by submitting 2:37.16 in the 200-m individual medley, the 50-m fly where she timed in 29.68 in the prelims that surpassed a 17-year-old record of 30.65 forged by NCR’s Lynette Ang in Koronadal, South Cotabato and led the NCR to the 4x50-m medley relay gold in 2:13.52, erasing the seven-year mark of 2:14.31 also set by NCR in Naga City.
She also topped the 100-m free and 4x100-m medley relay to add to her impressive haul and emerge the athlete with most golds won in this weeklong event sponsored by the provincial government and backed by the Phl Sports Commission and Smart with six.
Western Visayas kept their fierce, spirited seige of centerpiece athletics as Erwin Parcon dominated the 5,000-m in 15.58.8 and Christopher Lizarin took the 400-m in 49.7 to add to his 100-m dash triumph one day back.