Records continue to fall in 2010 Tarlac Palaro

Records continue to fall at the track and at the swimming pool as the country’s future stars showed their worth in Day 3 of the 2010 Palarong Pambansa at the Tarlac Recreational Park in San Jose, Tarlac. Western Visayas’ Alyssa Marie Andrade, Patrick Unso of National Capital Region (NCR) and Central Visayas’ Loren Dale Echavez had record-breaking feats as action in the 53rd staging of the annual multi-sports meet is expected to heat up.

The 11-year-old Andrade scooped up two more gold medals in the girls’ elementary division with her second mint proving to be the most memorable one. Andrade, who won her first gold in triple jump also in record-breaking fashion, took top honors in the long jump event with a leap of 5.07 meters to surpass Southern Mindanao’s Angeline Cabreros’ 4.99 mark in 2000. Her third gold came in the 100m dash when she posted a time of 13.39 seconds. Andrade, who used to train barefoot at the Aklan State University’s gravel and sand-covered track oval, also won the gold in triple jump by smashing the previous mark of 10.42m by Central Visayas’ Irin Balaruan when she had a record-leap of 10.80m. "My coaches taught me the proper technique," was the Dumagit, Aklan-native Andrade could say in Filipino when asked after her record-breaking feats. Unso, the son of former National hurdler Renato and a UAAP juniors’ division most valuable player, also shattered the 2006 Palaro record in the secondary boys’ 400m hurdles. He submitted the fastest time of 54.1 seconds to better the 2006 Palaro record of 55.7 set by Cagayan Valley’s Jorge Pinanonang. Western Visayas’ Robert Francisco won the silver when he crossed the finish line at 56.9 seconds while Cagayan Valley’s Alejandro Mendioro settled for the bronze (57.4). "I know I had better chances of winning in the hurdles compared in the long jump event. That’s why I really trained hard," said Unso, who will be aiming for a hurdles sweep when he competes in the 110m event. Echavez, meanwhile, snapped a 12-year Palaro record as she momentarily shared the limelight with Rafael Sta. Maria of NCR and CALABARZON’s Catherine Bondad, who reeled in their second gold medals in the 2010 Palaro. She gave Central Visayas another gold medal when she topped the 100m freestyle girls’ secondary event with a time of 1:00.28 seconds to break NCR’s Althea Lim’s 1:00.55 mark she set in the 1998 Bacolod edition. Sta. Maria topped the elementary boys’ 100m freestyle event (59.74) relegating Dexter Lacuna of Central Luzon (1:01.14) and NCR’s Bryan Lim (1:01.51) to the silver and bronze medals. Bondad submitted a time of 1:04.35 to win the elementary girls’ 100m gold while Northern Mindanaos’ Gail Maxine Carbajal took the silver with her 1:07.98 finish. Kyla Isabell Mabus of Western Visayas grabbed the bronze (1:08.35). – GMANews.TV