Torres and Dagmil Shaping Up For the Olympics
In all probability, the Philippines’ long-shot hopes in Olympic track and field will hinge on the long jumpers.
Marestella Torres and Henry Dagmil, both Southeast Asian gold medalists, are expected to be named as the Philippines’ representatives to the Beijing Games that will start on Aug. 8, according to athletics chief Go Teng Kok last Thursday.
Still to be decided by the coaching staff after the Asian Grand Prix legs next week, Go predicted that they are most likely to nominate the jumpers to fill the Philippines' two mandatory slots in the Olympics centerpiece event.
When asked in an interview, Go said, “We’ll wait until the Grand Prix for somebody who can surpass the Olympics cut-off, but we would settle for Marestella and Henry. They’re the best we have.
The Grand Prix legs is a track and field event happening in Thailand and Vietnam before the Beijing Games.
According to the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association president, the deadline set by the Philippine Olympic Committee is still far away but they have initially picked Torres and Dagmil to vie in the Games.
Torres, 27, has a record of 6.63 meters which she did during the 2005 Asian Championships in Incheon, South Korea. 6.72m is the women’s Olympic criteria. While Dagmil, 26, is hoping to meet the 8.20m Olympic criteria in a tournament in Malaysia early next month. His highest point from the ground is 7.99m, which he set during the recent Jim Bush Invitationals in Southern California. It bested his own record of 7.87m which he posted in winning the gold in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.
