NEW HEROES RISE: 5 records broken in Palarong Pambansa opener

CEBU CITY — A total of five records have been shattered in the opening salvo of the 64th Palarong Pambansa on Thursday at the Cebu City Sports Center here.

Jyane Kirt Cantor of Central Luzon led the way as he reset a 22-year-old record in the elementary boys’ long jump event of this prestigious tourney that serves as springboard for future members of the national team.

Cantor, a 12-year-old trackster from Nueva Ecija, posted 6.14 meters to reset the record of 6.04 meters tallied by Jeremie Tamles of Davao in the 2002 edition of the Games in Naga City.

“I didn’t expect I would win because I started at 12th place in the tournament,” said Cantor, who is just in his first year of competing under two-time Southeast Asian Games (SEA) champion Aries Toledo.

“He’s the one who trained me for a long time.”

Khrispher Kyle Ngirngir of Western Visayas clinched the silver medal after a leap of 5.63 meters while Ace Francis Bacongallo of Central Visayas took the bronze medal after tallying 5.59 meters.

Not to be outdone, Jasmine Mojdeh resets her own Palaro record of two minutes and 22.69 seconds in the secondary girls 200-meter butterfly event by clocking 2:19.72 after a five-year absence in this annual sportsfest.

Mojdeh, who is representing CALABARZON, said she is happy to break the record after a five-year absence.

“I’m really happy to go 2:19 despite the pressure. I was nervous at the ready bench because even though this wasn’t an international competition, the entire Philippines is watching and they were counting on me,” said Mojdeh, who studies at Brent International School in Biñan, Laguna.

“But at the end of the day, I just want to enjoy my swim and have a good time.”

National Capital Region (NCR) swimmers Patricia Mae Santor, who clocked 2:24.20, and Audrey Tom, who tallied 2:29.69, settled for silver and bronze medals, respectively.

NCR swimmer Ivo Nikolai Enot also shattered the seven-year secondary boys 100-meter backstroke record after posting 59.34 seconds.

The 17-year-old Enot, who swims for Ateneo de Manila High School, was happy to break national team swimmer Jerard Jacinto’s record of 59.64 seconds.

“To be honest, Kuya Jerard Jacinto is my idol. This is my last Palaro and I can tell that I can break the record,” said Enot, a bronze medalist in the 45th SEA Age Group Aquatics Championships in Jakarta last year.

Sofia Garra also broke a Palaro record after winning the elementary girls 100-meter backstroke in 1:08.50.

The 12-year-old tanker from De La Salle Araneta University said she gained confidence from the training she had prior to the Palaro.

“I expected to beat the record. We had a training camp before the Palaro,” said Garra, who erased the time of 1:09.65, an 18-year-old record held by Dorothy Ong of NCR.

TJ Amaro of the Bicol Region also set a new time of 25.25 seconds to overshadow NCR tanker Antonio Parto’s record-breaking time of 26.05 seconds in the secondary boys’ 50-meter butterfly event.

Earlier in athletics, long distance runner Asia Paraaase of Central Visayas captured the first gold medal of the tournament after dominating the secondary girls 3000-meter run event in 10:27.36 while Arianna Dawn Rabi of Ilocos Region won the secondary girls discus throw with a distance of 31.21 meters.

As of 5:15 p.m., Western Visayas leads the overall medal tally with five golds, two silvers, and one bronze while Central Luzon is at second with a 1-2-2 medal tally and Central Visayas at third with a 1-2-1 record.