Farmer’s Daughter Sets New Mark in Girls’ 400-m Hurdles in Palaro

The daughter of a farmer from the Ilocos region who had to walk for kilometers to get to her elementary school, won the gold and established a new meet record in the 400-meter hurdles after Day 4 of the athletics competition in the 60th edition of the Palarong Pambansa being held at the Binirayan Sports Complex here.

Ana Marie Eugenio clocked 1 minute 8.03 seconds, erasing the 19-year-old mark of 1:08.6 set by Junelou Cabal of Northern Mindanao in the 1998 Palaro.

The Ilocana runner defeated Merry Joy Tero of Davao, who settled for silver (1:08.75) and Rezen Albano of Western Visayas, who took the bronze (1:10.91).

Eugenio’s sterling and record-breaking performance made her the fourth athlete to establish a new meet record in athletics.

The other record-breakers are Kate Julienne Martinez of Negros Island with a heave of 35.56 meters; Sylvian Faith Abunda of Nothern Mindanao in the secondary girls’ javelin throw (42.85 meters); and James Lozanes of Western Visayas in the secondary boys’ javelin throw (59.46 meters).

In other events in athletics, Shiela Talja and Elvy Villagoniza, both from Western Visayas, bagged the gold and bronze in the secondary girls’ triple jump registering, 12.18 meters and 11.72 meters, respectively, while Gioneli Gatinga of the National Capital Region (NCR) took the silver (11.91 meters).

Rona Bacus of Northern Mindanao won the gold in the elementary girls’ triple jump (10.75 meters), while Sharlane Gonzales and Mary Rose Billones, both of Western Visayas, took the silver (10.45 meters) and bronze (10.36 meters), respectively.

NCR grabbed the gold-silver in the secondary girls’ discus throw, courtesy of Kasandra Alcantara (34.69 meters) and Daniella Daytona (34.11 meters), while Franz Gela Bintad of the Negros Island region took the bronze (33.56 meters).

Still in discus throw, Con Prince David of Calabarzon captured the gold in the elementary girls’ level (29.33 meters) while Duncan Maverick Rivera of Central Luzon took the silver (29.32 meters) and Tericho Monje of Bicol region the bronze (28.85 meters).