LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte — Trixia Anne Arellano of Western Visayas had an 11th birthday to remember last Tuesday.
Not only did she dominate the elementary girls 200-meter event at the 65th Palarong Pambansa here at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium aafter clocking in 26.4 seconds, she also broke the 17-year record of 26.7 seconds by current national team member Maureen Schrijvers.
The best part? The daughter of a fisherman and a housewife did it with nearly bare-footed as the nails of her shoes broke during the heats.
“The nails of my shoes broke in the heats. I was wearing them when I tripped and they broke,” said Arellano, an incoming Grade 6 student at Concepcion Central School in Iloilo.
“Thanks to God, I was able to win my first Palaro medal.”
On Wednesday, Arellano clinched another medal, this time in the elementary girls 100m event, with the time still being finalized as of writing, without any shoes.
When she goes home to Iloilo, she might not just bring home her medals to her family.
Arellano could be getting a new pair of shoes after this year’s Palaro with the incentives she gets after her impressive feat.