Patafa eyes Fil-Am pole vault ace

The Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association is eyeing a top Fil-Am prospect in pole vault, Natalie Uy, as another potential goldmine for the national team in major international meets like the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Uy, a former track and field varsity at University of Michigan who is now based in Spain, carries a personal best of 4.3 meters, which easily surpasses the winning 4.10m in the 2017 SEA Games and puts her within striking range of the 2014 Asian Games’ 4.5m triumphant mark.

“She’s cleared the height of 4.20 meters which is good for the SEA Games gold if it were held now and has a fighting chance for a medal in the Asiad had she competed,” Patafa president Philip Ella Juico said of Uy who could have made her debut in next month’s Asiad in Indonesia if only her Phl passport was due earlier than its scheduled Aug. 14 release.

Uy, whose father was Cebuano and mother was American, moved to Spain after graduation to teach English online but still went on with her pole vault training under Spanish coach Roman Martin in Madrid.

“She continued training in Spain, tumaas nang tumaas, ever since arriving in Spain her jump has improved by about 25 centimeters,” the athletics chief said.

The 24-year-old Uy is scheduled to come to Manila to show her stuff in the Patafa weekly relays.

“We need her presence in the Philippines so (pole vault coach) Emerson (Obiena) and (strength and conditioning expert) Carlo (Buzzichelli) can assess and evaluate her,” he said.

“Titignan natin (We’ll see) what’s best for her while she’s here.”

The athletics association, stressed Juico, is determined to beef up its pool with new prospects from overseas and from the grassroots level and complement it with the needed support system in a bid to reach its 13-gold target in the 2019 SEAG on home soil.