By Adrian Stewart Co

Filipino-American sprinter Kristina Knott struggled in her Olympic debut after bowing out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women’s 200 meter qualifiers yesterday at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

Knott failed to move past the semifinals round after finishing last in her heat composed of five players with a time of 23.8 seconds, which is 37th overall in a field of 41 runners.

The clocking of the 25-year-old Knott is way slower than her personal best record of 23.01 seconds, which she recorded in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Meanwhile, Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio looks to upgrade her Olympic medal when she faces hometown bet Sena Irie in the gold medal match of women’s featherweight division this noon at the Kokukigan Arena.

The Davao City-native Petecio was delighted to be given an opportunity to play in the finals as she looks forward to match the feat of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who delivered the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal last week.

“I am so happy to reach the gold medal round because this is not just for me, but also for my family and for the entire nation who have supported me all the way,” Petecio said.

Irie is a familiar opponent for Petecio as they have faced each other thrice before with the Japanese winning twice, including a split decision triumph over the Filipina at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Jordan in March 2020.

Pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena will also shoot for a gold medal tonight as he is one of the finalists in the men’s pole vault event at the Tokyo National Stadium.

Obiena, a standout from University of Santo Tomas, admitted that he struggled during the preliminary round where he took three tries before managing to leap over 5.75 meters.

Obiena’s personal best was the Philippine record of 5.87 meters he achieved at the Irena Szwewinska Memorial/Bydgoszcz Cup in Poland, but he will need to jump at least six meters in the finals to have a shot at any medal./ASC, WDJ