Soccsksargen ends gold medal drought in Palaro athletics via 400m run

GENERAL SANTOS CITY--Soccsksargen sprinter Kenneth Corpuz ended the region’s gold medal drought in athletics in the ongoing 2018 Palarong Pambansa after topping the 400m run secondary boys finals on Thursday morning.

The Palaro veteran clocked a personal best of 49.36 seconds to give the Soccsaksargen Regional Athletic Association (SRAA) its first athletics gold in the fourth day of the competitions at the Quirino Stadium in Bantay, Ilocos Sur.

Eastern Visayas’ Alhryan Jay Labita came in second at 49.88 seconds while Calabarzon’s Veruel Verdadero finished third at 49.95 seconds.

The gold medal was the first for the 17 year-old Corpuz since he first qualified for the Palaro three years ago.

“I got one, finally. Thank God for giving me the strength to win this race,” he said in the vernacular.

Corpuz, who is a Grade 11 student of the Libertad National High School in Surallah, South Cotabato, initially clinched the silver medal in the 400m hurdles on Wednesday afternoon.

He is set to race in two more team events -- 4x100m and 4x400m relays -- on Friday.

The unlikely breakout player of the athletics team failed to win a medal in the 2017 Palaro in Antique after suffering a minor leg injury.

He only resumed training in September last year and eventually qualified to compete in the SRAA meet last March.

Corpuz credited his gold medal win to proper training and guidance from the team’s training manager, Olympian and Southeast Asian Games gold medallist Henry Dagmil.

SRAA earlier adopted a specialized training program formulated and introduced by Dagmil, who hails from South Cotabato province.

Alex Floro, sports coordinator of the Department of Education-South Cotabato, said Corpuz’ win gave a glimmer of hope for the team as they close out the remaining events in the next two days.

“We’re hoping for the best. I believe we still have chance to get another gold medal,” he said. (PNA)