Mangliwan shines in the rain

PARIS, France — Wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan raced under heavy rains and qualified to the final of the men’s 400-meter T52 on Friday at the Stade de France in the 17th Paralympic Games.

Mangliwan clocked one minute and 5.79 seconds and finished fourth in the first of two heats ruled by world champion Maxime Carabin of Belgium.

Mangliwan’s time is far from his personal best of 1:01.35, but enough to land seventh overall in the qualifying races, propelling him the gold-medal race early Sunday morning.

“To be honest, I felt nervous. The slippery conditions didn’t help either,’’ said Mangliwan in Filipino.

“Fortunately, I was able to bring special gloves just in case it rains. But it was really hard to control my racer.”

Mangliwan said he is now shifting his focus on the finals.

“As my coach said, the preliminary heats are now over. It’s now time for me to focus on the finals,” he added.

“Hopefully, there will be no more rain and my performance will improve.”

Mangliwan’s stint as well as his preparations for a third straight Paralympics is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Carabin, the reigning world record-holder in the event, topped their heat in 54.48 seconds while Japan’s Tomoki Sato placed second overall in 58.04 seconds. Japanese Tomoya Ito ranked third among the qualifiers in 1:00.42.

“I’m glad that he made it to the final. I hope that Jerrold can improve his time to give him a chance for a medal,” said Philippine Paralympic Committee president Michael Barredo.

Meanwhile, para archer Agustina Bantiloc bombed out as she lost to Jane Karla Gogel of Brazil, 143-127, in the opening knockout round of the women’s individual compound event at the Les Invalides shooting range.