Manila: John Cabang Tolentino shattered the Southeast Asian Games record and delivered the Philippines’ first gold medal in athletics on another memorable day for Team Philippines at the Supachalasai National Stadium here. Tolentino clocked 13.66 seconds in the men’s 110-meter hurdles on Friday, eclipsing the previous mark of 13.69 set by Thailand’s Jamras Rittidet in the 2015 SEA Games.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Filipino champion powered past Singapore’s Chen Xiang Ang, who took the silver medal in 13.75, and Abdul Lattif Mohamad Armin Zahryl, who secured the bronze in 13.85. “For me, it’s a big honor to raise the flag on the top of the podium for the Philippines. So I’m super happy,” Tolentino said. “I had some wrong steps but I’m strong so it didn’t matter.”
SEA Games debutant Jeralyn Rodriguez claimed the bronze medal in the women’s 400 meters and punched her ticket to the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field, University of Oregon. Rodriguez posted a time of 53.40, fin
ishing behind Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Ngoc, who struck gold, and Thailand’s Josephine Onuorah Chinenye, who earned silver.
Meanwhile, Filipino gymnast John Ivan Cruz bagged the vault apparatus gold medal in the men’s artistic gymnastics at the Thammasat University Rangsit Campus Gymnasium. Initially adjudged as a silver medalist, Cruz and his team made a successful protest and review, enabling him to emerge as co-champ with Malaysian Muhammad Sharul Aimy with an identical average of 13.833 points. Home bet Tikumporn Surintorta finished with 13.717 points for the bronze medal.
Cruz shared his sentiments: “Ang target ko po sana ay ma-defend ko yung floor exercise title pero ito po ‘yung binigay ni God at ‘di ko po siya sinayang, nag-focus po ako ng maayos, nag pahinga ako ng maayos para dito (My target was to defend the floor exercise title, but this is what God gave me and I didn’t waste it. I focused well and rested well for this).” The 24-year-old explained the process of review that allowed him to salvage a
medal in the biennial meet after failing to defend his floor exercise title. Cruz said failing to make the floor exercise final and defend his title motivated him to ace the vault.
Paris Olympian Aleah Finnegan raised her personal medal haul in this year’s Games to two after capturing the bronze in the balance beam with 12.467 points. Finnegan seized the gold medal in the vault apparatus on Thursday. Interestingly, she was also adjudged a silver medalist first, like Cruz, and only after a plea for review did she become the gold winner.
