Third party eyed for track measurement

CEBU CITY — Efforts are under way for the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Cebu City Sports Commission to establish whether or not the Cebu City Sports Center’s 400-meter track oval is two meters short in measurement.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bragis said in a press conference Saturday that they want to look at the track oval’s measurements to validate the track records in the ongoing Palarong Pambansa, the country’s premier multi-sport conclave for student-athletes in elementary and high school.

There has been an uproar over social media after reports have been posted that the oval track, which was built in 1994, is two meters short.

“We are trying to have a third party that will come in to validate the measurement of the track oval at 398 meters,” Bragis said.

“Why is this so important? Because we have the Patafa (Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association) that provides the guidelines for the measurements of all three overall standard measurements, international standards and a consequence of a non-accurate measurement of the standard overall would result in non-inclusion of the official times of our runners.”

“The third party will use a telescopic device to verify the distance of the entire track. As it is, all of the records are not yet official,” Bragis said.

So far, Mico Villareal of Western Visayas is the only Palaro athlete to surpass a meet record in track after clocking in 14.53 seconds and is eligible to beat the 14.68-second time of Patrick Unso of the National Capital Region back in the 2010 Palaro in San Jose, Tarlac.

But with the track still under review, the record cannot be broken as of the moment.

Still, Bragis is confident that this matter will be resolved soon.

“The third party told us that it will be discovered at the soonest possible time,” Bragis said.