Asian Games: PH qualifies to 4x400m mixed relay final, breaks PH record
NAGOYA – Team Philippines booked a spot in the 4×400 meter mixed relay final of the athletics event at the 20th Asian Games on Thursday morning at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
The quartet of Gabriel Borado, Victoria Bossong, Michael Del Prado and Naomi Johnson clocked in a time of 3:19.68 to rank third in Heat 1, finishing eighth overall.
The top three teams in each heat, as well as the next two fastest teams will also secure a spot in the final.
The Philippines edged out Sri Lanka for the last spot in the final, as they clocked in a time of 3:19.81.
“I’m super proud of this team. This is the first time we’ve all run together, and it’s on such a big stage. We just broke the national record, so it’s super exciting. That’s just, like, a testament to all of our hard work this season,” Bossong told POC Media.
“I think for all of us, we can agree we didn’t know what to expect in this meet, especially in this event. I believe our strategy will be ten times different. This track opposed to all the different tracks that we train on have a lot wider curves and a lot of us were a little shaken up by that,” Borado said.
For Johnson, she said their training camp in Japan ahead of the Asiad helped the team prepare for the continental showcase.
“We trained all together, getting to know each other and just working hard together, learning how each other runs,” she said.
The quartet also set a new Philippine national record in the 4x400m mixed relay, breaking the previous record of 3:22.53 set by Del Prado, Jessel Lumapas, Frederick Ramirez, and Maureen Schrijvers on July 15, 2023.
“We’re happy because we broke the national record. I’m really glad. We can do better,” Del Prado said.
“We have work to do in the finals and we have to keep fighting. Laban. We’re hungry for more. We’re happy but we want more and we won’t stop ’til we get it,” Borado added.
Bahrain, China, and Vietnam were the top three in the preliminaries, followed by India, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea.
The 4×400 meter mixed relay final is set for 9:15 pm, Philippine time in the same venue.