Jathniel Caleb Fernandez won five gold medals in archery during the Philippine Sports Commission’s Batang Pinoy Games going on in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, and he’s looking forward to more.
The nine-year-old boy from Baguio City may end up holding the most mints in the Olympics designed to find the best young athletes in a variety of sports in the qualifying finals Olympics today.
“He trained for over a year just to be here. He’s really eager to win it all,” said Randy Fernandez, father of Jathniel Caleb, whose precise shots show his potential in the bigger tournaments ahead.
Fernandez aggregated 304 in 10 metres, 243 in 15 m, 260 in 20 m, 257 in 30 m for a total of 1,064, completing all five of his events Monday at San Ildefonso Central School.
“I hope to win that sixth gold medal,” said the third grader from the Baguio Pines Family Learning Center, who has honed his skills under coach Alexis Requipo.
unstoppable
Adrianna Jessie Magbojos of Sta. Rosa City also places herself in sixth gold medal spot and could join Fernandez as the most illustrious products in this Batang Pinoy release.
Magbojos are unstoppable at 10m, 15m, 20m, 30m and total.
Bacolod City’s Mico Villaran emerged as another prized find, completing a treble in athletics by dominating the men’s 110 m, 200 m and 400 m hurdles.
“My dream is to compete in the SEA Games (Southeast Asia) and other international tournaments,” said Villaran, who turned his efforts to running after failed attempts to join the soccer team. school feathers and volleyball.
He reached 15.17 seconds in the 110 m and 23.18 seconds in the 200 m hurdles. Other winners on the track were Rafael Guinto of Olongapo City in the men’s 5000 m (17:27.2) and Marjorie Ragudos of Pangasinan in the women’s high jump (1.30 m).
Maritanya Krogg took second place in a row in cycling by topping the 13-15 women’s individual timers with a time of 12:39.24. The 13-year-old from Caloocan City is trying to win three gold medals in the road race on Tuesday after winning the women’s category.
—Jun Navarro INQ
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