Iloilo’s young sprint sensation Trixia Anne Arellano proved that shoes aren’t a requirement for greatness.
Despite running barefoot, the 11-year-old athlete dominated the track at the Palarong Pambansa 2025 in Ilocos Norte, capturing two gold medals in the elementary girls’ 100m sprint and 200m dash—marking a triumphant debut on the national stage.
Arellano competed with her feet taped and later shared that she chose to run shoeless in the finals, believing it gave her better speed and comfort.
Her incredible feat in the girls’ 100m sprint was captured in a 44-second clip posted on the X (formerly Twitter) account of One Sports, quickly gaining traction online.
“RAN LIKE A GIRL 🔥🔥 Watch how Iloilo’s Trixia Anne Arellano blazed to gold BAREFOOT in the Elementary 100m of the Palarong Pambansa 2025,” the post read.
Watch the video here.
RAN LIKE A GIRL 🔥🔥
Watch how Iloilo’s Trixia Anne Arellano blazed to gold BAREFOOT in the Elementary 100m of the Palarong Pambansa 2025.#INPalaro2025 #PalarongPambansa #OneSports pic.twitter.com/IfnH8pvyW3
— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) May 29, 2025
Arellano clocked 12.84 seconds in the 100m dash and 26.40 seconds in the 200m, securing double gold and cementing her status as one of the country’s rising track stars.
