Filipino-Americans dominate SEA Games athletics
Texas-based Eric Shauwn Cray swept to 100m victory at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Tuesday as he led a Filipino-American assault on the athletics competition.
Cray, who will represent the Philippines at 2016 Rio de Janeiro OlympicsĀ in the 400m hurdles, switched to 100m but easily won with a personal best of 10.25sec.
The Philippinesā California-born Kayla Richardson, 17, edged Thailandās Tassaporn Wannakit in the womenās 100m, and Caleb Stuart smashed the Gamesā menās hammer record to take gold.
Cray, 26, dominated the menās 100m, topping the heats and then winning the final by 0.2sec from Indonesiaās Boby Yaspi, with Thai defending champion Jirapong Meenapra fifth.
Some critics question the Philippinesā policy of recruiting overseas talent with Filipino heritage, but Cray said it was an honour to represent his motherās country.
āI just feel that if you have Filipino blood and you cherish the traditions of the Philippines, you know itās a great honour for me to be able to represent and I am just happy that they allow me to,ā he told reporters.
āMy mother is Filipino and she was born in Olongapo and I was raised there for a little while and then moved to the States.
āSo I just enjoy being able to represent my country, my motherās country, which makes me proud and I hope I can make them proud as well.ā
Richardson, who also has a Filipino mother, has only visited the Philippines once on holiday but she also said she was proud to represent her country.
The teenager had an anxious wait while officials examined footage of the 100m finish before awarding her gold, a whisker ahead of Thai runner Tassaporn.
āI am so amazed, this is what I came here to do and I am glad I was able to get it done,ā Richardson said.
āItās my first time here and I am younger than most of these girls and I am just very proud of myself that I can represent my country.ā
She added: āPhilippines is coming up, let me just say that.ā
Earlier, fellow Filipino-American Stuart beat the Games hammer record by more than three metres (10 feet) to emphatically win gold.
Stuartās 65.63m was more than half-a-metre off his personal best, but still obliterated the 2013 record of 62.23 set by Thailandās Tantipong Phetchaiya, who took silver with 62.12.
Follow up:Ā Cray added to his many accomplishments by breaking the Southeast Asian Games record for the menās 400-meters hurdles competition at the National Stadium in Singapore on Wednesday, June 10. Cray finished with a time of 49.40 seconds, beating Cong Lich Quach of Vietnamās 50.29 output to also win the Philippines their 19th gold medal in the SEA Games, which puts them in 5th place overall. Andrian of Indonesia, which drops to 6th place, came in at third with a time of 51.36. The previous record, set by Thailandās Chanon Keanchan in 1995, was 49.76. (Rappler)
Afro Filipino Eric Shauwn Cray captures gold in hurdling for PH
Supplier apologizes for PH flag blooper
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