Robyn Brown snags PH's first gold in Asian Athletics Championships 2023
2023-Jul-17 14:50
Robyn Brown after her triumphant finish in the women's 400 meters hurdles during the 25th Asian Athletics Championships. PHOTO: PATAFA/Facebook
Robyn Brown notched the Philippines' first-ever gold in the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships after ruling the women's 400 meters hurdles at Supachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday, July 15.
Brown recorded 57.50 seconds to defeat Japanese rivals Eri Utsunomiya and Ami Yamamoto, who settled for silver and bronze with 57.73 and 57.80 clocked times, for the crown during the Asian Championships' 25th edition.
"It was crazy. Honestly, I just wanted to do my best. I had a little trouble finishing the race the past two SEA Games and good thing I was able to pull through today,'' Brown said.
She took the silver in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia behind champion Nguyễn Thị Huyền of Vietnam.
Moreover, the daughter of a Los Angeles-based Filipina nurse placed third in Hanoi 2022 and Manila 2019.
Drawing Lane 5 in the straight eight-woman finals, the 28-year-old Filipina hurdler trailed early leader Yamamoto not until she peaked the pace in the last 120 meters of the race.
Down to the final 90m, Brown pulled away for good. She even outperformed Thị Huyền – finished fifth with 58.36.
Kazakhstan's Zems Adelina wound up fourth place after recording 57.91.
Brown's mark, however, was below the Olympic qualifying standard of 54.85, as well as her national record of 56.44, which she set in the 32nd SEA Games.
Yet, Brown was confident she can hit the standard before the qualification ends after June 30, 2024.
Eric Cray, on the other hand, landed sixth after failing to sustain his good start in the men's 400m hurdles finale.
Cray, six-time SEA Games champion in his pet event, led the pack halfway through the race before falling short.
The 34-year-old listed a 49.76 recorded time.
Qatar's Bassem Mohamed Hemeida took the gold behind a 48.64-second performance, while Japan's Yusaku Kodama got silver with 48.96 and India's Santhosh Tamilarasan nabbed bronze with 49.09.
On Friday, John Cabang Tolentino sustained a bittersweet defeat in the men's 110 hurdles.
Tolentino reset his national record with 13.556 but missed a podium finish.
Shunya Takayama of Japan claimed the gold after tallying 13.29 followed by China's Xu Zhuoyi (13.39) and Kuwait's Yaqoub Alyouha (13.551).