Driven by the desire to enter the 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan, national steeplechasers Junel Gobothia and Jessa Mae Roda showed significant improvement in their performance to dominate their respective events at the ICTSI Philippine Athletic Championship held at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium.
Independence Day Triumph
Coinciding with the celebration of Independence Day, Gobothia took the lead in the final three laps of the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase en route to victory.
Roda also did not let up, using a good tactic before pacing well to leave her national teammate Edna Magtubo in the last 100 meters, securing first place in the women's side.
Athletes' Statements
"It's better than my last run in Taiwan because coach Vertek (Buenavista) and I are chasing the qualifying time for the Asian Games, which is 8:36.57," Gobothia said.
"I was just waiting for the opportunity and did not speed up in the early rounds because I might run out of energy," Roda said of her game plan.
