Monday, August 18, 2008 Dagmil finishes 18th of 20 in long jump
MANILA—Filipino track star Henry Dagmil could only settle for 18th in a field of 20 in Group A of the men’s long jump competition Saturday night in the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing.
But what was more unforgettable for the 26-year-old Dagmil was he fought it out and gave his best jump against the best in the world.
He made 7.58 meters right away in his first jump, but that was all he could do as he fouled in the second and third attempts.
Too bad, he said as it was far from his personal best of 7.99, which he did in the Jim Bush Invitational in Southern California early this year.
“Maganda ang kundisyon sa warmup pero pag laban na, nagbabago. Ganun ang nangyari sa akin,” said the South Cotabato jumper who earned a trip to the Olympiad as the mandatory Filipino male athlete entry in track and field.
Despite his two-month training in the US prior to the Games, Dagmil’s performance showed how far the country is in athletics.
“My jump was the worst in recent years. It if it was eight meters, I could have made it. If it was 8.20, I could have given a fight,” said Dagmil. FCC
“Sa third attempt ko, di ko na makontrol ang speed ko. Nanggigil na ako kaya na-foul din,” said Dagmil, a gold medalist in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
Louis Tsatoumas, a two-time Olympian from Kalamata, Greece, did 8.27 in his first try to lead the 12 qualifiers for the finals scheduled tomorrow.
Also making it to the cast of 12 were Ibrahim Camejo of Cuba (8.23), Greg Rutherford of England (8.16) N. Makusha of Zimbabwhe (8.14), Wilfredo Martinez of Cuba (8.07), Jahir Saladino of Panama (8.01) Roman Novotny of Czechoslovakia (8.01) ,Khotso Mokoena f South Africa (8.14), Taher Al Saba of Saudi Arabia(8.04), Felipe Meliz of Spain (7.95) and Gable Garenamotse of Botswana (7.95) (FCC)
