New Clark City: The Philippine Army's Carlos De Imus emerged victorious in the men's 10,000-meter race walk during the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships held at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium. De Imus completed the race in 46 minutes and 11.11 seconds, surpassing his competitors, Vincent Vianmar Dela Cruz of the University of Santo Tomas (50:17.84) and John Aaron Aranda of National University (51:51.65).
According to Philippines News Agency, De Imus expressed satisfaction with his performance, although he remains ambitious for further personal improvements. This victory marks a significant improvement from his previous record of 48:21.93 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City last year. Earlier this year, De Imus set a Philippine record of 1:30.03 in the 20,000-meter race walk at the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan, which earned him a spot on the national team. "I'm so happy, it's a dream come true. Every athlete aspires to become a member of the national team," said the 24-year-old, who holds a degree in sports management from UST.
In the women's 400-meter hurdles, Robyn Brown claimed victory by defeating Paris Olympian Lauren Hoffman, finishing in 57.39 seconds. Hoffman, who is in the process of recovering from a left Achilles heel injury, completed the race in 1:00.20, followed closely by Thailand's Anisa Wenuwamarak at 1:00.42. Brown, who had previously won the event with a time of 57.50 seconds at the Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, two years ago, remarked, "It feels good and she (Hoffman) is a strong competitor and we've already seen that."
Other gold medalists at the event, which is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, included Fil-Americans Kristina Knott (women's 200m run), Marc Anthony Rosario (men's 200m run), Yacine Guermali (men's 5,000m run), and the Philippine Army's Joida Gagnao (women's 5,000m run). The ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships serve as a qualification event for both the 33rd Thailand Southeast Asian Games in December and the Asian Youth Games in Manama, Bahrain, in October.
