FIRST, they took away the women’s individual time trial where Marella Salamat is the defending champion, leaving the toast of Philippine cycling to fight by her lonesome in the road and criterium events.
Now, the Malaysian organizers of the Kuala Lumpur 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games have made life difficult for track star Eric Cray.
The Malaysians have prepared a program for the heats of the 100 meters and 400 meters hurdles where Cray is the reigning champion in both events in such a way that the Filipino-American would have to choose which gold medal to defend.
That is, unless, Cray could run like an Energizer bunny come competition time.
The heats for both events are only half an hour apart, making it physically demanding for Cray.
The preliminaries are set on August 22 and officials of the Philippine Athletic Track and Field Association (Patafa), led by President Philip Ella Juico, cried foul and wrote the Malaysian organizers to revise the times of the heats.
But the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) denied Patafa’s appeal.
“We regret to inform you that your appeal for the change of schedule was not successful,” OCM Secretary-General Low Beng Choo told Philippine Chief of Mission Cynthia Carrion through e-mail.
“We strongly believe that this schedule, with all due respect, is inimical to the optimum performance and safety of athletes who will see action in both events,” Juico said.
Cray holds the Philippine records in the 100m and the 400m hurdles. He is also the Asian champion in his favorite 400m hurdles.
Government’s financial support of the SEA Games campaign, meanwhile, could be breaching P300 million.
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has poured P279 million for the country’s participation to the August 19 to 30 Games, and the amount could balloon further with unforeseen contingencies.
But the PSC has no qualms about the increase in the funding.
“The PSC is 110-percent supportive of our athletes. We want them to succeed,” PSC Executive Director Carlo Abarquez said.
The Philippines is sending a 773-strong delegation—498 of them are athletes, while the rest are coaches, medical team and sports officials—from 37 national sports associations to Malaysia.
“We have been very generous to them. We gave them whatever they need and made sure that all their preparations are financially covered,” Abarquez added.
The biggest chunk of the funding set at P192 million were spent for the athletes preparation and training, including their participation in international events. Each member of the delegation will receive $500 in allowances.