RISING athletics star Sheena Atilano set a new Philippine
record of 13.65 seconds in bagging the silver medal in the women’s 100-meter
hurdles event of the 2007 Asian Athletic Grand Prix at Pune in Western India
last Wednesday.
Atilano, 27, finished second behind Anastasiya Vinogradova of
Kazakhstan in eclipsing the previous Philippine best of 13.66 set by former SEA
Games track queen Elma Muros during the 1991 Manila SEA Games.
Vinogradova completed a three-leg sweep of the event, winning
her third straight gold medal with a time of 13.22 seconds. Dedeh Erawati of
Indonesia, who beat Atilano for the silver in the second leg in Guwahati, Inddia,
settled for the bronze this time, clocking 13.68 seconds.
Atilano finished the series with three medals, counting
another silver in the opening leg of the series in Bangkok. She won a total of
$2,100.
"She is improving so fast, and I have no doubt she will be
one of the country’s gold medalist in the coming SEA Games. I can bet on that,"
said Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association president Go Teng Kok.
"She has already beaten the Indonesian (Erawati) who was the
silver medalist the last time. The (reigning SEA Games) gold medalist,
(Malaysian) Moh Siew Wei is plagued by injuries. So I could say Sheena is almost
a sure gold," Go added.
Atliano’s vast improvement is greatly attributed to her
six-month training in the United States, along with sprinter Ralph Soguilon.
Before clocking a new RP record, the former Palarong Pambansa gold medalist
out of La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, had a personal best time of 13.71
seconds. (Christine Moncada)
