PHILLIP Juico, the president of the Philippine Track and Field Association, had a bold forecast recently, saying athletics can contribute 10 to 11 gold medals in next year's Southeast Asian Games. If true, that could be the best haul for athletics in recent SEA Games and his prediction is, as far as I know, the first from an NSA president.
His reasoning is simple. So simple that you just have to pray and hope that the athletics head has something more up his sleeve, like a grassroots program.
Juico sees 10 or 11 gold medals because the veterans from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are all fading and facing retirement.
Juico said Jesson Cid and Janry Ubas, the silver and bronze medalists in decathlon in 2015, are now gold medal standard with the retirement of 2015 champion Nguyen Van Hue.
For Marestella Torres, Juico continued in the Manila Standard report, "Torres could have a better chance against Indonesian women’s long-distance gold medallist Natalia Londa if Vietnamese silver medallist Bui Thi Thu Thao pushes through with her plans to retire."
He didn't bring up, of course, the thorny issue of Mary Joy Tabal, whose improvement between the 2015 and 2017 editions of the games can be measured and whose chances for a medal isn't based on that wishful thinking of the retirement of a rival.
Juico, the former Philippine Sports Commission chairman, mentioned Eric Cray Kyla Richardson and Caleb Stuart, the Fil-Ams who won gold medals in 2015 and who, unlike Tabal, never faced any “train in Manila or get out of the national team” threats.
He didn't mention that Tabal, who won the silver in 2015 in 3:0:4:39, behind Thailand's Nattaya Thannaronnawat (3:03:25), now has a personal best of 2:43:31. Not that it means an automatic gold, because another Asean runner has a 2:40 personal best, but mentioning it would mean Patafa is also relying on measurable skills, not the retirement of foes, for the SEA Games.
Anyway, now that he has predicted a 10 to 11 medal haul, let's see the good Patafa president put his money where his mouth is? Should he fall short, Juico should resign from Patafa.
I have a feeling, and this one is shared by many including the current officials of the PSC, Juico's retirement from Patafa will improve our medal chances.
Yes, the guy who is relying on our foes' retirement for SEA Games succes should himself retire. It's as simple as that.
(mikelimpag@gmail.com)