REGION 4-A (Southern Tagalog Calabarzon) trackster Jerico Cadag outpaced his competition in the secondary boys’ 5,000-meter run to snare the gold medal in the Palarong Pambansa on Friday, July 12, 2024, at the Cebu City Sports Center.
Cadag started the race with easy strides, along with the rest of the competitors, who were all trying to take the lead.
In the final lap, the competing tracksters sprinted their way to the finish line, but Cadag proved to be the fastest of them all and crossed the tape in 16:10.22 for the gold.
Jhul Ian Canalita of Central Visayas finished in 16:11.98 for the silver medal, while Arnel Je Ylanan Jr. came in third for the bronze with a 16:12.80 clocking.
In the elementary girls’ triple jump, Rose Jane Barcelona of Bicol took the gold, followed by Briana Corong of Eastern Visayas and Fiona Pangan of Northern Mindanao.
Barcelona secured the victory with her 10.64m performance, while Corong recorded a 10.34m leap for the silver finish. Pangan settled for the bronze with a 10.32m output.
Charles Daniel Turla of Western Visayas also won the gold medal by breaking the previous record in the elementary boys’ javelin throw.
Turla hurled the javelin through a distance of 60.36 meters, 2.86 meters better than the previous record of 57.50 meters set by Southern Tagalog Calabarzon’s Jerick Mendoza in 2016.
Southern Tagalog swimmer Michaela Jasmine Mojdeh also broke the record in the secondary girls’ 200-meter breaststroke to clinch the title.
As of 6:14 p.m., Friday, Calabarzon led the medal standings with 27 gold medals, nine silvers, and 12 bronzes.
The National Capital Region had a total of 20 gilts, 13 silvers, and 19 bronze medals at second, followed by Central Visayas with 13 golds, 21 silver medals, and six bronzes.
Davao took the fourth spot with 11 golds, 14 silvers, and 11 bronze medals, while Western Visayas tallied an 11-9-13 gold-silver-bronze standing.