John Cabang announced his arrival with a bang as he shattered the national record to win the gold medal in the men’s 110-meter hurdles event of the Campeonato de Esukadi in Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain.
Cabang, a Filipino based in Spain, clocked 13.65 seconds to erase a one-year record set by Clinton Bautista in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi and dominate the seven-man field.
Hometown bet Gonzalo Sabin Lamborena grabbed the silver medal in 13.84 seconds while another Spanish hurdler in Diego Andres Dougan took home the bronze in 14.00 seconds.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association secretary general Edward Kho lauded Cabang’s feat, saying that it was a major boost to his bid of representing the country in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China this September.
Aside from that, he will also be tested when he dons the national jersey in the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Pattaya Thailand from 12 to 16 July.
“His performance is a good indication that he’s on his way up and a great boost to be included in the lineup for the Asian Games,” Kho said in a phone conversation.
“He is peaking for the Asian Championships and if he does well there, we could see a second peaking from him for the Asian Games. The gap is two months so it’s still possible.”
Actually, Cabang didn’t make the national team the first time he tried to enter the pool.
But the 21-year-old Robotics major in Madrid was very determined, asking the federation to give him a chance to prove himself and show what he is capable of.
He made the cut and settled for bronze medal with a clocking of 13.86 seconds in the previous SEA Games in Cambodia.
But it was just the beginning.
“During that time, it was the off-season so he missed the standard by two-tenths of a second. He was in constant communication with us and his progression was good at the time but the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Kazakhstan,” Kho said.
A consistent string of good performances could turn Cabang into a new star of Philippine athletics, similar to world No. 3 pole vaulter EJ Obiena, Olympian Eric Cray and national record-holder Kristina Knott.
Kho said Cabang’s intention to represent the country and his recent podium finish in the SEA Games convinced them that he has what it takes to represent the country in major international tournaments.
“He’s keen on being part of the national team, not because he wants it to be one of his sidelines, but because he has the purest of intentions of being in the team,” Kho said.
“We included him in the SEA Games since Clinton was our lone entry there. When he got the bronze medal, we endorsed him right away.”
Kho hopes Cabang’s feat would encourage more athletes to train overseas.
He added that they will definitely include Cabang in the Asian Games roster despite the Philippine Olympic Committee’s pronouncement that only the gold and silver medalists in the previous SEA Games will be given the green light to join.
“We need this kind of performance to strengthen our national team. You can draw strength from your strength,” Kho said.
“The standard of the POC is like a guideline. There’s still a bit of a window for cases that you could not put under the gold and silver-only rule.”
