FORMER Davao City standout Sonny Wagdos pocketed a gold medal and a bronze in the recently-concluded 2019 Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships in Ilagan, Isabela but he fell short of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games qualifying time.
The 24-year-old Wagdos of Philippine Air Force, who hails from Prosperidad in Agusan del Sur, registered a time of 15 minutes and 48.61 seconds to clinch the men's 5,000-meter run gold over James Darrel Orduna (16:07.94) and Immuel Camino of City of Ilagan (16:09.85) who settled for the silver and bronze, respectively.
"Layo man akong time kay init pajud kaayo (I failed to meet the standard qualifyig time, it was also too hot)," Wagdos told SunStar via Facebook.
He said that the qualifying time was 15:15 to earn a spot in the national team for the 30th SEA Games set on November 30 to December 11 in the Philippines.
Wagdos, a former varsity scholar at the University of Mindanao, also placed third in men's 1,500m.