Umaasa ang Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) na mahahatak ng mga kasaling dayuhan ang kapasidad ng pambansang atleta na sasabak sa Philippine Open Invitational Athletics Championships mula sa Marso 19 hanggang 22 sa San Luis Sports Complex sa Sta. Cruz, Laguna.
Sinabi ni PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico na hindi magiging ordinaryo ang torneo dahil gagamitin ng lahat ng sasaling bansa ang torneo bilang paghahanda at huling pagsasanay sa 28th Southeast Asian Games na gaganapin sa Singapore sa Hunyo 5 hanggang 16.
“All our elite athletes, including those in the priority list and national pool, are required to participate, as the meet will be used as a qualifier and basis of their performance for them to join the 28th SEA Games in Singapore in June,” sinabi ni Juico.
Kabuuang 23 events para sa men’s at women’s divisions ang paglalabanan sa apat na araw na torneo kung saan ay dadayo sa bansa ang mga nagpartisipang Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong at Chinese Taipei.
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Inihayag naman nina secretary-general Renato Unso at marketing director Edward Kho na ilang Philippine record at posibleng SEA Games standard ang mapantayan o tuluyang mabura sa event bunga na rin sa hinahangad ng mga atleta na mapasama sa delegasyon ng Pilipinas sa 28th SEA Games.
“We are optimistic that some Philippine records will be broken and SEA Games standards be surpassed,” pahayag ng dating national record holder na si Unso. “Actually, we have 14 priority athletes that already hit the SEA Games standard while 22 of 27 others hit the standard during the PATAFA weekly relays.”
Maliban sa walkathon na hindi sasalihan ng Pilipinas sa SEA Games, umaasa ang bansa na mapupunan ng mga atleta ang lahat ng events upang malagpasan ang iniuwing 4 ginto, 3 pilak at 3 tansong medalya sa nakaraang Myanmar SEAG.
“Actually, the standard to qualify is 3rd place of the previous SEA Games pero sinabihan kami ng POC na kahit na hindi medalist but maganda ang performance ay pupuwede naman na irekomenda namin sa Task Force. Baka ilang atleta din ang maaring makuwalipika sa Olympics,” giit naman ni Kho.
Matatandaan na napasakamay noon ni Marestella Torres na makuwalipika sa 2012 London Olympics matapos na maabot ang qualifying standard ng International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) at manatiling SEA Games record sa tinalon nitong 6.71 metro sa 2011 SEA Games sa Palembang.
‘We have several athletes that can actually hit the Olympics standard,” dagdag ni Kho. “Our pole vaulter EJ Obiena is actually way ahead of the SEA Games standard and is a shade off the Olympics, then we have Eric Cray who broke Unso’s 22-year old record and then Patrick Unso who is so close to SEA Games record.”
“We also have Kat Santos who is currently training hard in the US in the long jump and hammer thrower Caleb Stuart which is really throwing pass the record,” sinabi pa nito.
