LAOAG, Ilocos Norte— National Capital Region standouts Sophia Rose Garra and Titus Sia tallied five golds apiece to become two of the most bemedalled tankers at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. Memorial Stadium pool here.
As they collected their prized medals, Region 6 standout Mico Villaran showed that he isn’t done yet in smashing records when he took the secondary boys’ 400-meter hurdle honors over at the FEMMS oval.
The 12-year-old Garra, a seventh grader at De La Salle-Araneta, grabbed her fourth and fifth golds with a record-breaking feat in the elementary girls’ 200-meter Individual Medley (IM), after beating Region 3’s Miles Hechanova in the 100-meter freestyle.
“The water in the pool was hot, and coach told me to be more aggressive,” said Garra.
Sia earned his fifth when he shattered the 16-year-old mark of Omar Dacera (4:35.42), with a 4:31:39 effort in the elementary boys’ 400-meter freestyle.
He earned his fifth gold when he shattered the 16-year-old mark of Omar Dacera (4:35.42), with a 4:31:39 effort in the elementary boys 400-meter freestyle.
The 17-year-old Villaran, an incoming 12th grader at the Romanito Maravilla National High School, fulfilled another goal on his wish list when he ran the secondary boys’ 400-meter hurdles in 53.52 seconds to erase Patrick Unso’s 15-year-old Palaro mark of 54.1 seconds.
He was after five golds, but Villaran changed his mind when he decided to give up in joining the 100-meter sprints because of its close schedule with the 400-meter hurdles.
“Sobrang saya. Nakakuha ulit ako ng record,” said Villaran, after he earlier surpassed a Philippine junior mark (14.23 seconds by Francis Medicna in the 2015 National Open) and meet record (14.68 by Unso in 2010) with his 14-second performance in the 110-meter hurdles.
Villaran still has two relay events and if he and his Region 6 teammates win both the 4×100 and the 4×400, he will become one of the most decorated runners in athletics on his final year.
