TEAM Philippines squeezed into the 4×400-meter mixed relay final by a whisker, clocking 3:19.68 to finish eighth overall in the heats and secure the last qualifying spot at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The Filipinos advanced as one of the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers, keeping their medal hopes alive despite narrowly missing out on a top-seven automatic berth.
Victoria Bossong said the result was especially meaningful after the relay quartet ran together for the first time on such a major stage.
βYeah, Iβm super proud of this team. This is the first time weβve all run together, and itβs on such a big stage. We just broke the national record, so itβs super exciting. Thatβs just, like, a testament to all of our hard work this season,” Bossong said.
The team spent about a week training together in Tokyo, with Kayla Johnson saying the camp helped the runners developed chemistry and understand how each teammate runs.
βWe just had a training camp in Tokyo for about a week, and so we trained all together, getting to know each other and just working hard together, learning how each other runs. So, yeah,” she continued.
Bossong, who will also enter in the womenβs 800 meters and womenβs 4×400-meter relay, believes Philippine athletics is entering an exciting period of growth.
βI think right now, Philippine athletics and all the sports, weβre just really in a great period of time where thereβs so much growth happening. And weβre just trying to build, you know, at this meet and then for the upcoming years, up through the Olympics,β Bossong added.
Johnson, meanwhile, will also compete in the womenβs 200 meters, 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay.
Now, the mixed relay squad gets another chance to make history in the final after sneaking through the heats and setting a new national mark. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
