Mangliwan eyes 100m T52 finals

PARIS, France — Although acknowledging it was not his forte, wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan vowed to give it his all and reach the finals of the men’s 100-meter T52 event of the Paris Paralympics track and field meet at the La Stade Arena here.

“It’s not really my forte but my basic target with coaches Joel (Deriada) and Bernard (Buen) is to qualify in the finals,” said Mangliwan on the eve of his event scheduled at 3:01 a.m. on Friday (Manila time) and the finals at 5:32 p.m. on Saturday (Manila time).

He, however, booked a personal best of 18.65 seconds in bagging the silver medal in the same event in last year’s Asian Para Games, a marked improvement over his time of 20.08 seconds in placing eighth in the finals in the Tokyo edition of the elite meet three years ago.

“We realize that Jerrold is the underdog in this event so our first goal is to qualify first to the finals then think of our next game plan later,” Deriada said, adding that they were better prepared in case it rains in the heats and finals.

Expecting sunny conditions, the Tabuk, Kalinga pride was stymied by the downpour in the heats and finals of the men’s 400-meter T52 race last week, eventually winding up eighth among the finalists last week.

“I don’t want to make excuses, but I really had a hard time competing because of the rain. The push ring became slippery and it was hard propelling the wheelchair. The contact wasn’t good,” he explained.

Still, the national team skipper who is appearing in his third straight Paralympic Games, is determined to go the extra mile in making his country proud in the stint supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

“This is my last event here in Paris so I will do my best to bring honor and glory to the country,” Mangliwan said.