TRAFFIC or the overcast weather did not stop around 6,500 runners from joining the second leg of the ceremonial lighting of the torch during the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games torch relay held at the Cebu South Coastal Road, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019.
Talisay City, Cebu’s Kim Remolino, a member of the four-man team that will represent the country in the triathlon competition, said maintaining the proper mindset, above all else, is what’s left to be done for the preparations.
“Actually, naa na ko sa mga (I’m) 90 to 95 percent ready for this SEA Games. It’s all up to the last two weeks of preparations nga makasulti nga (when I can finally say) I’m fully prepared na,” he said. “It’s all about the mindset race because it’s one of the biggest races that I’ll be entering. There’ll be a huge crowd during the race,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Remolino was the fastest Filipino in the qualifying races at the Subic Bay International Triathlon 2019 and the Gyeongju ASTC Triathlon Asian Championship in South Korea.
SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport involving participants from the 11 countries of Southeast Asia: Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.
The Philippines is the host of the 30th SEA Games, which is scheduled to start on Nov. 30 and end on Dec. 11. Fifty-six sports competitions will be played over four venue clusters in Clark, Subic, Manila and Tagaytay.
In his speech, Ramon Fernandez, commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission, expressed confidence that the entire Philippine team will do well in this year’s SEA Games.
“We have prepared our athletes to the fullest and now the games are about to start and I’m telling you from the way we look at it, they are very much prepared,” he said.
Michael Dino, secretary of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, and Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella were among the 12 torch bearers during the five-kilometer torch run.
The ceremonial torch relay kicked off in Davao City last Oct. 30. The next and the last leg of the torch run is scheduled on Nov. 23 at the Bayanihan Park in Clark Freeport in Pampanga, where the one-year countdown for the 30th SEA Games was held. (WBS)