Stakes high in National Open

The best athletes inside and outside the country gather to shoot for precious ranking points and slots in the national squad when the 2023 Philippine Athletics Championships fire off from 21 to 26 March at the Ilagan City Sports Complex in Ilagan City in Isabela.

Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association secretary general Edward Kho yesterday said the National Open promises to be a slam-bang affair with elite athletes like Kristina Knott, Eric Cray and Nathalie Uy seeing action to secure their slots in the national team that will compete in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May.

The Florida-based Knott is considered as the country's fastest woman after shattering the 33-year-old record of the late Lydia de Vega-Mercado in the women's 100-meter run in a tournament in Iowa two years ago while the 34-year-old Cray remains a force to be reckoned with in men's hurdles.

Uy, for her part, is also a record holder in the women's pole vault event, but a hand injury shattered her dream of joining EJ Obiena and Knott in the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.

Meanwhile, Obiena, who joined the press briefing at the Diamond Hotel via Zoom, will not be able to participate.

Kho said Knott, Cray and Uy will test their mettle against the best local athletes from the national training pool, collegiate leagues, Batang Pinoy and Palarong Pambansa as well as those from countries like India, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar and Indonesia in a six-day affair that is also sanctioned by the World Athletics and dangles ranking points for the World Championships.

"This year is very special. Almost 99 percent of our Fil-Heritage athletes will come over simply because, aside from the fat that this is the final selection for the Southeast Asian Games, this event also has been awarded 100 points by the World Athletics for qualification for the World Championships," Kho said, speaking on behalf of Patafa president Terry Capistrano.

"It's because World Athletics wants to encourage the neighboring federations to come up with high-level national championships."

The country had its best performance when it hosted the biennial meet in 2019 at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Tarlac.

The national tracksters emerged with 11 gold, 16 silver and 16 bronze medals to land at third behind powerhouse countries Vietnam (16-12-10) and Thailand (12-11-12).

In the previous biennial meet, the Filipinos maintained their spot at third, but their production slid drastically, finishing with only five gold, seven silver and 14 bronze medals.

Kho said having the national athletes compete against foreign bets will not only give them a taste of what's in store for them in the SEA Games but will also prepare them mentally and physically for the tough grind ahead.

"We only have two stages in the competition, the trials and the finals. This is so that the athletes won't tire themselves out," said Kho, who was joined by Patafa consultant Reli De Leon and national team head coach Noel Posadas as well as sponsors Carlo Sampan of Milo, Cel Logistics senior vice president Andoy Perez and assistant vice president for business development Anton Capistrano.

He also thanked Ilagan City for its all-out support

Kho also thanked Ilagan City, headed by Mayor Jay Diaz, for serving as the home of the National Open from 2017 to 2019.

"We are so proud to have been a partner of the City of Ilagan because if you well remember, they also hosted the National Open in 2019. Prior to that, they started hosting in 2017 and 2018 and they have been really exceptional as a host and co-organizer of this event."