The province’s 11 athletes who joined the 11th Arafura Games 2019 in Australia took home bronze, silver, and gold medals despite the challenges of their participation.
Palaweña athlete Abegail Manzano of Team Pilipinas won gold in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase held in the Australian city in the Northern Territory from April 27 to May 4, a statement from the Provincial Information Office (PIO) said.
Athletes John Loyd Cabalo, Reymark Godoy, Romel Bautista, Jovianne Calixto, Itiro Alamo, Francis James San Gabriel, Evangelyn Caminong, Jessel Lumapas, Eliza Cuyom, and Ernie Gracia also won gold, silver and bronze medals in the sports events they joined.
In the statement, Provincial Sports Office (PSO) chief Francis Nemenzo said Team Pilipinas led in the track and field competition where most athletes who competed were from the province.
In the track and field event, the Philippine team took home 13 gold, 19 silver, and nine bronze medals.
Winning second place was New South Wales with 13 gold, 6 silver, and six bronze medals, followed by Malaysia with nine gold medals, Northern Territory with 5 gold medals, Queensland with five, Timor-Leste with five, Victoria with four, and South Wales with 4 gold medals.
“All in all napakaganda ng performance ng Palawan athletes natin na nag-contribute ng malaking ambag sa medal tally na nakuha ng Team Philippines,” Nemenzo was quoted in the statement.
Team Pilipinas was composed of 91 athletes from different provinces.
In total, Nemenzo said, the country brought home 31 gold, 51 silver, and 34 bronze medals from the different sports events of the Arafura Games.
