Capistrano: The future is bright

NAGOYA, Japan — More than the medals the national track and field team delivered, the 20th Asian Games proclaimed with unmistakable force the dawn of a new era in Philippine athletics.

At the center of this resurgence stands Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) president Terry Capistrano, whose leadership, vision, and relentless push for excellence have transformed a once‑quiet program into one of the nation’s most dynamic sporting forces.

For the first time since Lydia de Vega’s 1986 gold medal in the 100m and silver in the 200m, the Philippines returned to the Asian Games track podium, not once, but twice. And for Capistrano, the breakthrough is only the beginning.

“The future is bright. We have quite a number of athletes who have shown their might,” said Capistrano said, reflecting on the team’s performance. ``You now have a team that you can seriously say has stepped up to another level.”

Across a week of fierce competition, the national team, whose participation is also supported by ICTSI and Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, pieced together a three‑medal performance that signaled both progress and promise in succeeding top-tier competitions.

EJ Obiena soared to pole vault gold, reaffirming his dominance in Asia in another record-breaking feat. John Cabang Tolentino battled through rain and injury to seize bronze in the men’s 110m hurdles.

And in the women’s 800m, Victoria Bossong delivered a breakout run, claiming bronze in her Asian Games debut.

“Terry Capistrano is God’s gift to Philippine athletics. You will rarely see a sports leader who has the resources, management expertise, passion to excel and precious time for his athletes and association,” said Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Patrick Gregorio.

“He’s also gifted with vision, great PR, personality and sense of humor and knows how to celebrate. Thank you, president Terry. Mabuhay ang Philippine athletics,” added the PSC chief.

It was a haul that marked the rebirth of a program ready to contend with the continent’s best.

“We’ve been concentrating on EJ the previous years, now we also concentrate on these two (Cabang Tolentino and Bossong). We’ll build a team around them,’’ said Capistrano.

``Now, we’ll try to have a team around each of these players. We have to do this full time. At least 50 percent of their time devoted for training. We need physiotherapists and therapists, and a psychologist if necessary,” said Capistrano.

He also highlighted the rising potential of Yacine Guermali, whose performance in the 5000m showed that the Philippines now has depth in events once dominated by regional powerhouses.

“I think with Bossong, Cabang and Yacine, we have a pretty formidable team plus of course EJ. If we talk about the SEA Games, we’ll be fine and we’ll be competitive in other bigger tournaments as well,’’ said Capistrano.