Cabang-Tolentino pulls out of repechage race

MANILA – The Philippine athletics team to the Paris Olympics is going home without a medal after its last hope, John Cabang-Tolentino, suddenly withdrew from the repechage run of the men's 110-meter hurdles scheduled at the Stade De France on Tuesday.

In an Instagram story, Tolentino said he suffered an undisclosed injury that forced him to pull out of the race.

"I am so sorry. I'm not gonna be able to run due to an injury," he said.

He was relegated to the repechage after finishing sixth in his preliminary heat on Sunday.

Tolentino was supposed to run in Heat 2 of the wildcard phase that ended in a photo finish.

Brazil's Rafael Pereira won the heat at a time of 13.536 seconds, while France's Raphael Mohamed joined him in the semifinals after beating Algeria's Amine Bouanani by only 0.001 seconds.

Tolentino's sudden exit came hours after EJ Obiena's heartbreaking fourth-place finish in the men's pole vault finals. (PNA)