ASEAN Para Games 2023: Para-athletics, swimmers lead PH's second biggest gold haul on Day 5

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The Philippines had their second biggest gold haul in the ASEAN Para Games (APG) 2023 on Day 5 Tuesday.

The nationals took six gold medals on Day 5 after collecting nine last Sunday, June 3, to remain in the fifth spot of the current medal tally as of 8:30 p.m., June 6, with 18 golds, 19 silvers, and 21 bronzes.

Athletics delivered four golds while swimming added two.

Reigning back-to-back champion Indonesia remained untouchable from its pole position with an 89-gold collection on top of 78 silvers and 50 bronzes. Thailand trailed the Indonesian contingent by 23 golds with 66, alongside 62 silvers and 47 bronzes.

Vietnam had 34 golds, 35 silvers, and 51 bronzes, good for third place, followed by fourth-running Malaysia with 31 golds, 26 silvers, and 27 bronzes.

The country can still hike its medal count with three more days left in the biennial meet for differently abled athletes.

King James Reyes and Jerrold Mangliwan ignited the gold rush of the Philippines following their respective victories.

Reyes defeated Malaysia's Muhamad Ashraf Muhammad Haisham by 0.03 seconds and Vietnam's Tran Van Duc by 0.04 ticks after clocking 2:13.220 to rule the men's 800-meter T46 tilt.

This is Reyes' first gold medal in APG 2023, as he settled for silvers in the men's 5,000m T46 and 1,500m T46 on Monday.

Meanwhile, Mangliwan topped the men's 400m T52 event, overcoming Thailand's Pichaya Kurattanasiri by a +1.72 difference as he clocked 1:01.930. His compatriot Rodrigo Podiotan Jr. completed the podium cast after placing third with a 1:03.650 recorded time.

With the triumph, the 2016 Rio Paralympian Mangliwan became a four-time APG gold medalist. The 43-year-old reigned in the same event last year while bagging two 100m T52 golds in Singapore 2015 and Surakarta 2022 and clinching the 200m T52 eight years ago.

Andrei Kuizon and Rosalie Torrefiel added spark to the para athletics' blistering Day 5 run.

Kuizon snagged the men's shot put F53/54 crown, registering 7.27m to beat Cambodian bets Phea Phawat (4.17m) and Poul Sarravann (3.89m), who settled for silver and bronze, respectively.

Torrefiel, on the other hand, plucked the women's javelin throw F11 gold after tallying 19.33 meters throw to beat the other five competitors.

She followed the footsteps of Cendy Asusano and Evaristo Carbonel, who claimed the top prize in the women's F54 and men's F11 last Monday.

Ratnaningsih Ratnaningsih of Indonesia took silver with 18.05m, and Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Chin nabbed the bronze, posting 17.98m.

Para swimmers Angel Otom and Ariel Joseph Alegarbes tanked a pair of gold medals behind their first-place finishes at Morodok Aquatics Center.

Otom stashed her second gold in Phnom Penh 2023 by bagging the women's 200m individual medley S5. The 50m backstroke champion completed the race with 4:43.60 to beat Vietnam's Thi Sari Nguyen (5:16.68) and Thi My Thanh Danh (6:17. 46).

Resetting the men's 200m individual medley record, Alegarbes ultimately ruled the event with two minutes and 18.19 seconds clocked time.

The Philippines' flag bearer shattered the old 2:27.23 mark set by Malaysia's Ethan Yin Jun Khoo in 2022.

Khoo (2:26.22) eked out the bronze while his fellow Malaysian Imaan Aiman Muhamad Redzuan snared silver with 2:22.12.

The Philippine para swimming delegates now contributed seven golds in total.