Heavy rains did not stop Filipino tracksters from grabbing three golds and setting course records in the 2024 Hong Kong Athletics Championships at the Tseung Kuan O Sports Ground.
On Saturday, Filipino-American bets Lauren Hoffman and Robyn Brown broke the current meet record with their 1-2 finish in the women’s open 400-meter hurdles.
The 25-year-old Hoffman sprinted to a 57.15-second finish for her third gold medal in the outdoor season, shattering the 14-year-old mark of 58.47 seconds belonging to Chen Mei Li.
Hoffman said the win served as her preparation for the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships 2024, which begins on Wednesday at the Philsports oval.
And so did Brown with her silver-medal finish at 54.59 seconds, and with Ashleigh Ma Ying Wen ending up third with a clocking of 1:04.2.
“This week we’re headed to Pasig for the Pilipinas National Championships!!! So excited to be back, let’s get it!” said Hoffman in statement on social media.
Hussein Lorana, a 20-year-old student-athlete from Adamson University, took the top honors in the men’s 800-meter run, besting local bet Sean Fontaine with his time of 1:52.11.
Lorana, a transferee from the University of Baguio, was ahead of Fontaine, who settled for the silver in 1:53.02, and Khan Mohammad Kamran, who got the bronze in 1:04.02.
On Sunday, Kristina Knott, who submitted a clocking of 12 seconds in the women’s 100-meter heats to take the top spot a day before, bagged the gold with a lower time of 11.52 seconds.
She was in front of Chan Pui Kei, who earned silver in 11.82 seconds, and Luo Tze Yuen, who was third in 11.86 seconds.
Hoffman has already smashed three Philippine marks, breaking the women’s 100-meter hurdles last month, the women’s 400-meter hurdles time last March and the indoor women’s 400-meter clocking twice last February.
More records are expected to fall when Hoffman competes with Brown, Knott and Lorana later this week in the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships 2024.
Due to extreme summer weather conditions, the Philippine trackfest will be held at a much earlier morning schedule and resume by 3 p.m. to avoid the sweltering heat.
