Espenilla, Cadag break through at Asian U20 athletics meet

Ana Bhianca Espenilla.–CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

HONG KONG—Ana Bhianca Espenilla and Jerico Cadag delivered silver and bronze medals that underscored the promise of Philippine athletics at the Asian U20 Athletics Championships.

For Espenilla, the moment came when she least expected it. The 19-year-old javelin thrower from Tigao Island, Masbate, had struggled through her first five attempts, far from medal contention with her best mark stuck at 47.71 meters.

But on her sixth and final throw, Espenilla unleashed a personal-best 52.20 meters at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground, catapulting her to the biggest podium finish of her young career.

“I was surprised when I reached 52 on my last throw. I told myself, I’ll just throw this one and just live with the result, that’s why I really didn’t expect to get to 52,” said Espenilla.

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Her breakthrough came timely with the World U20 Athletics Championships in Oregon coming up from August 5–9, where she will join Jeralyn Rodriguez (400m), Naomi Cesar (800m), and Ivan Cabanda (400m hurdles).

“This is truly a remarkable feat. The Asian U20 Championships are, in essence, the Asian Games for athletes under 20 and a showcase of the continent’s finest young talents,’’ said Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association President Terry Capistrano.

“What we are witnessing here is nothing less than the future of Asian athletics,” added Capistrano.

The 18-year-old Cadag proved his mettle in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final. Against a field of 13 runners, Cadag clocked 9:35.10 to clinch the bronze medal behind India’s Nikhil Chandrashekar (9:25.44) and Japan’s Yuu Kato (9:27.30).

With Espenilla’s silver and Cadag’s bronze, the Philippine athletics squad closed the meet on a high note.

Cadag’s medal was the culmination of a journey marked by reinvention. Once a javelin thrower, he realized his true niche lay in distance running.

He shifted to the 1500m and 3000m, where his persistence paid off with two Palarong Pambansa golds and a silver at the SEA U18 competitions.

Here in Hong Kong, he drew motivation from Vietnamese rival Luong Xuan Son, who had beaten him in Malaysia two years ago.

This time, Cadag turned the tables with a career-defining performance.

“I didn’t want to waste the opportunity given to me to fight for our country. This is the biggest tournament of my career, and I will try to even do better in competitions to come,” said Cadag, an incoming engineering freshman at National University, in Filipino.

A gold medalist in Batang Pinoy and Palarong Pambansa, Espenilla now sets her sights on breaking the national record and dreams of one day competing for the national team at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

Yu-chin Tai of Chinese Taipei seized the gold with a throw of 56.71m, while South Korea’s Kim Minji secured the bronze at 51.51m.