FILE– Christine Hallasgo. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Reigning Southeast Asian Video games (SEAG) marathon queen Christine Hallasgo might be operating a shorter distance when she competes within the Philippine Athletics Championships that may happen on Dec. 16 and 17 at Baguio Athletic Bowl.
The event is a mirrored image of the occasion’s milieu—a pandemic that had beforehand frozen all sporting actions within the nation.
“It’s our first nationwide championships in two years,” stated Philippine Athletics Monitor and Discipline Affiliation (Patafa) president Philip Ella Juico, who referenced the COVID-19 pandemic that restricted the federation’s actions.
“Nevertheless it’s not the primary occasion we’re staging through the pandemic. We at Patafa held digital races and seminars for coaches and trainers,” Juico added throughout Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Affiliation discussion board.
And as Patafa marks its return underneath the nationwide highlight, the well being disaster continues to make its presence felt with marathon stripped off the calendar as a result of, Juico stated, of protocols that govern the occasion.
Greater than prepared
Hallasgo, nevertheless, is greater than prepared as she banners the sphere within the ladies’s 10,000-meter run.
“We’ve got been coaching right here in Baguio since final October. And in two months we’ve seen the development,” stated Hallasgo.
Near 300 monitor athletes from across the nation will compete within the occasion, which the nationwide athletics federation deliberate for whereas the pandemic stored sports activities locked down.
“We had been doing issues through the pandemic. We did a whole lot of planning. We didn’t go to sleep,” Juico stated.
Monitor coach Jeffrey Chua stated the athletes, together with the 40 members of the nationwide pool, are excited for the occasion.
“Even in coaching, they’re at all times on the go. We’re very completely satisfied that members from all areas within the nation are coming to Baguio,” he stated.
Juico stated 18 gold medals every might be disputed within the males’s and girls’s sides, because the occasion kicks off preparations for the Hanoi SEA Video games in Might and the Hangzhou Asian Video games in September.
RELATED STORIES
Learn Subsequent
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get entry to The Philippine Each day Inquirer & different 70+ titles, share as much as 5 devices, hearken to the information, obtain as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Name 896 6000.