Filipino-American sprinter Miguel Rosario III dreams of one day representing the Philippines in international athletics, once he secures his Philippine passport.
In his debut appearance on Philippine soil, the 20-year-old student-athlete from Seattle, Washington, made a stunning impression by clinching the gold medal in the men’s open 200-meter dash in the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium.
Rosario clocked an impressive 20.82 seconds, surpassing the current Philippine national record of 20.84 seconds set by Trenten Beram at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. However, the record-breaking performance won’t be officially recognized as a Philippine national mark because Rosario is not yet a Philippine passport holder.
Still, Rosario’s potential was on full display throughout the event. In the men’s open 100-meter finals, he earned a silver medal after finishing second to Singapore-based Filipino sprinter Marc Brian Louis.
Unlike Rosario, Louis, whose mother Lian hails from Moncada, Tarlac, has limited prospects of switching allegiances to the Philippine national team.
Louis, coached by former University of Santo Tomas varsity standout Benber Yu, is a seasoned competitor, having represented Singapore in three Southeast Asian Games and winning a silver and bronze in his last two appearances.
He previously competed in the Philippines, bagging gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2019 Southeast Asian Youth Championships in Ilagan, Isabela. At the 2023 SEA Games, he secured bronze in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.39 seconds.
“I think it was a good competition. I had tough opponents from the Philippine side,” said Louis, who currently
Louis’ connection to Philippine athletics runs deeper—his coaches had interacted with the late sprint queen Lydia de Vega-Mercado during her time working in Singapore.
