Knott intensifies chase for Olympic spot

Kristina Knott is expected to go all out in her quest for Olympic ranking points in the Philippine Athletics Championships set to open Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.

Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association Federation (Patafa) secretary general Jasper Tanhueco confirmed Knott’s attendance, saying that the Filipino-American sprinter is determined to break records and gain valuable points that will boost her return to the Summer Games this July.

The 28-year-old Knott is expected to compete with high morale after clinching the gold medal in the Hong Kong Athletics Championship at the Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground over the weekend.

Knott clocked 11.52 seconds to rule the women’s 100-meter run but Tanhueco expects her to deliver another emphatic performance to reset her personal-best of 11.27 seconds that she set in the 2020 Drake Blue Oval Showcase in Des Moines, Iowa.

“Yes, she’s joining,” Tanhueco told Daily Tribune in a short message.

Aside from Knott, also tipped to arrive are Filipino-American sprinter Lauren Hoffman, Filipino-Spanish hurdler John Cabang Tolentino, Asian champion Robyn Brown and Olympian Eric Cray.

All in all, a total of 700 athletes will be present, including 60 foreign athletes and Filipino heritage bets from around the world, making the event one of the biggest and most prestigious since its return to Manila after making stops in Ilagan City in Isabela the past couple of years.

To avert the searing Manila weather, events will start from as early as 5:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. and will resume 3:30 p.m. all the way to the evening.

Tanhueco said coming up with strong performance will be crucial to Knott and those who are bidding to join Ernest John Obiena in the Paris Olympics.

He said athletes need to either meet the Olympic qualifying standard or gain enough ranking points to climb to the Top 40 of their respective events in order to catch the flight headed for the French capital.