Athletics isn’t traditionally a medal mine for the Philippines in the Asian Games. In fact, since 1986, when Lydia de Vega led a four‑medal haul with a gold in the 100m and silver in the 200m, the Philippine athletics team has won only three medals—two bronzes and EJ Obiena’s gold in the Hangzhou Games.
But in the 20th Asian Games, the Philippine athletics team matched that total, with Obiena winning gold in men’s pole vault in record-setting fashion and John Cabang Tolentino and Victoria Bossong nabbing bronze in the 110m hurdles and 800m, respectively.
PATAFA Sees Bright Future for Philippine Athletics Team
For Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) president Terry Capistrano, that modest yet historic medal tally is the byproduct of years of hard work and an omen of good things to come.
“The work over the last few years is beginning to pay off in that we are learning how to win or podium in events of this magnitude and scale,” he said. “The future looks bright with the podium finish of Victoria Bossong and John Cabang Tolentino. They are young and extremely determined. Very purposeful.”
Bossong is just 23 and entering her athletic prime, while Tolentino is 25 and right smack in his best years. Meaning, Tolentino is right to bet big on both, with Obiena continuing to be the veteran beacon of the athletics team for the time being.
Bossong and Tolentino Are the Building Blocks
After the Philippine athletics team finally achieved a modicum of success, the next step, according to Capistrano, is to build on it, and the building blocks in this case are Bossong and Tolentino, along with Yacine Guermali, the 27‑year‑old Fil‑Am who finished fifth in the finals of the men’s 5,000m.
“We’ve been concentrating on EJ the previous years. Now, we also concentrate on these two. We’ll build a team around them,” he said. “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.”
Indeed, EJ Obiena now has company. And while three medals are a modest haul compared to powerhouse athletics programs, there’s finally reason to believe that the Philippines can build something that’s truly competitive on the world stage.
