BANGKOK — Philippines finally won a gold medal after four days in the 25th Asian Athletics Championships on Saturday courtesy of hurdler Robyn Lauren Brown at the track oval of Supachalasai National Stadium in Thailand.
The 28-year-old Los Angeles-based Filipino-American ran as fast as she could halfway after the first 200 meters to finish the race at 57.50 seconds and win the women’s 400-meter hurdles championship against two Japanese opponents Eri Utsunomiya and Ami Yamamoto.
Utsonomiya clocked 57.73 seconds for the medal and Yamamoto finished 57.80 seconds for the bronze.
“Honestly, I’m so disappointed that my time wasn’t my season’s best but I just wanted to go out there and compete. I had a lot of trouble finishing my race for the past three SEA [Southeast Asian] Games so my intention is to finish strong,” Brown said.
Brown’s season’s best in 400-m hurdles is 56.44 seconds which he achieved in the last Cambodia 32nd Southeast Asian Games last May, where she settled for a silver medal. She was also a bronze medalist in the Hanoi 31st SEA Games in 2022 and the Philippines SEA Games also at the same event in 2019.
But she was able to redeem herself on the bigger stage as she captured her first gold medal.
Brown, though, was still three seconds behind the Olympic standard mark of 54.85, but she’s hoping she would get it soon.
Unfortunately, six-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Eric Shauwn Cray couldn’t sustain his momentum after a strong start to fall sixth place behind with 49.76 time in the men’s 400-m hurdles after Brown’s triumph.
Cray, 34, led halfway through the race but came up short.
Qatar’s Bassem Mohamed Hameida captured the gold in 48.64 seconds to take an Olympic berth for the Paris Olympics next year, while Japanese Yusaku Kodama got the silver with 48.96 seconds and India’s Santhosh Tamilarasan settled for the bronze with 49.09 seconds.
Brown captures gold in Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok
Source: News Paper Radio
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