Jeralyn Rodriguez clinches spot in U20 Worlds

Jeralyn Rodriguez.–CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

HONG KONG—Jeralyn Rodriguez delivered the best performance of her young career in the 22nd Asian U20 Athletics Championships.

The 19-year-old Rodriguez clocked 54.83 seconds in the 400m final to punch her ticket to the World U20 Athletics Championships in Oregon, Portland set for August 5-9.

“I’m happy because I was finally able to achieve what I have been chasing which is world qualification,” said Rodriguez in Filipino after the reigning Southeast Asia U20 champion cleared the qualification standard of 55.20 seconds.

Rodriguez, a two-time Palarong Pambansa gold medalist in her pet event, formed a promising Philippine squad with Naomi Cesar (women’s 800m), Ivan Cabanda (men’s 400m hurdles) and Bianca Espenilla (women’s javelin), determined to go far on the global scale.

“What we are witnessing here is the future of Asian athletics. Seeing athletes from beyond Southeast Asia perform at such an exceptional level ignites a powerful drive in our own,” said Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association President Terry Capistrano.

“It compels us to train harder, prepare smarter, and rise to meet the challenge,” added Capistrano.

And this time, Rodriguez’s qualification couldn’t be denied. At the SEA Games in Bangkok last year, she had already hit the 55.20-second standard. But a faulty electronic timing system denied her feat, leaving her qualification in limbo.

“It’s just regrettable what happened in the SEA Games but I just thought of it as a challenge for me to work harder.”