MANILA – Filipino wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan clocked 1:04.55 to finish eighth in the men’s 400-meter T52 event at the Paralympic Games held at Stade de France on Friday night (Saturday morning, PH time).

Mangliwan, who secured his spot in the finals by placing seventh in the heats with a time of 1:05.79, faced a tough field in the final round.

The gold medal was claimed by reigning world champion Maxime Carabine of Belgium, who finished in 55.10 seconds. Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Sato Tomoki took the silver with a time of 56.26, while fellow Japanese athlete Ito Tomoya secured the bronze, clocking in at 1:01.08.

Over at Les Invalides shooting range, para archer Agustina Bantiloc bowed out in the opening knockout round of the women’s compound event. She was defeated by Brazil’s Jane Karla Gogel, 143-127.

Coach Joel Deriada shared that Mangliwan struggled in the first 150 meters of his race but managed to pick up speed in the last 250 meters, nearly catching up to the seventh-place finisher. “Jerrold also mentioned that he had a tough start. He offered no excuses and knows there’s more he can achieve,” Deriada said. “In practice, he clocked 1:02 and 1:03, so we know he has potential.”

Mangliwan, who set a personal best of 1:01.35 at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games, will compete in one more event, the 100-meter T52 race, with heats on September 5 and the finals on September 6.

Despite missing out on a podium finish, Mangliwan’s determination and performance in reaching the finals were commendable, especially after his disqualification in Tokyo 2021 for crossing into the wrong lane close to the finish line.

el Amigo/mnm

Jerrold Mangliwan (3rd from left) running third early in the men’s 400-meter T52 race heats behind world champion Maxime Carabin of Belgium in the 17th Paris Paralympic Games track and field competitions at the Stade de France on Friday (Aug. 30, 2024).  (PSC Photo)

PARIS – Para wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan is still in but archer Agustina Bantiloc ended her bid in the 17th Paralympic Games here Friday.

By the skin of his teeth and under rainy weather, Mangliwan clocked a slow time of one minute and 5.79 seconds but finished seventh out of eight qualifiers at the sprawling Stade de France to slip into the finals of the men’s 400-meter T52 race set at 7:12 p.m. (1:12 p.m. Saturday, PH time).

At the Les Invalides shooting range, Bantiloc bowed out of contention, losing to Brazil’s Jane Karla Gogel 143-127 (25-29, 28-29, 24-29, 27-29, 23-27) in the opening knockout round of the women’s individual compound event in the stint backed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

Competing in the quadrennial Games for the third straight time, Mangliwan, racing in lane No. 6, actually finished fourth in the first heat where the top three finishers qualified, led by Belgian world champion Maxime Carabine who set a personal record of 54.48 seconds.

Placing second overall after topping the second heat was Tokyo Paralympic Games gold medalist Sato Tomoki of Japan (58.04) while compatriot Ito Tomoya (1:00.42) was third.

The Tabuk, Kalinga native’s heat time was a far cry from his personal best and national record of 1:01.35.

“Talagang mabagal dahil sa ulan. At medyo kinabahan din kasi ‘yung top three sa bawat heat ang pasok kaagad sa finals (Really slow because of the rain. And I’m a little bit nervous because the top three in each heat got outright finals slots),” Mangliwan said.

“Buti na lang nagdala ako ng special gloves para sa ulan. Pero mahirap rin talaga ma-control ‘yung gamit kong (It’s good that I was able to bring my special gloves for the rain. But it is really hard to control my) racer,” he added.

Mangliwan is out for redemption after being disqualified in the 2021 Tokyo finals for crossing the wrong lane.

“If Jerrold is able to match his personal best, he might have a fighting chance of a podium finish,” Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC) president Mike Barredo said. “We continue to believe in Mangliwan and his fighting spirit.”

Barredo was joined by PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann, PPC secretary general Goody Custodio and chief of mission Ral Rosario during Mangliwan’s event.

HANGZHOU – Running a brilliant tactical race, Jerrold Mangliwan surged past South Korea’s Jeon Jeongdae in the last 30 meters in snatching the silver medal in the men’s 100-meter T52 finals of the 4th Hangzhou Asian Para Games trackfest at the Huanglong Sports Stadium oval here Tuesday.

Racing on the outside lane, Mangliwan bided his time before putting on a burst of speed in flashing past the South Korean in a personal best time of 18.65 for his first medal in the continental meet after placing fourth in the same event in the 2018 edition held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Japan’s Ito Tatsuya retained his title by clocking a new meet record of 17.41 meters while Jeon, who clocked (18.67), settled for the bronze in Mangliwan’s fourth straight  Asian Para Games appearance backed by the Philippine Sports Commission. 

“Nagpapasalamat ako kay God na binigyan niya ako ng ganitong pagkakataon. First time na mag-Asian Para Games medal pagkatapos ng apat na kompetisyon. Wala na seguro akong masasabi pa,” said the delighted athlete of his unexpected silver in the event that he acknowledged was not his strong suit.

“Nagbunga yung training namin ni coach Joel (Deriada) and Bernard (Ebuen) kasi ang game ko talaga sa bandang dulo dahil basag ako talaga sa starting,” added the Tokyo Paralympic Games veteran, who dedicated his silver to cousin Handsome Magdiwang, who figured in an accident back home.

Encouraged by his performance, Mangliwan, who won two mints in the Cambodian ASEAN Para Games last June,  is expected to figure prominently for another medal in his pet event, the men’s 400-meter T52 contest, scheduled later in the week. 

Hoping to add to the country’s medal tally later in the evening was swimmer Ernie Gawilan, who finished a strong second in the heats in the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7 event with a time of 5:11.16 behind Singaporean topnotcher Soong Too Wei (5:09.82).

A bronze medalist in the 200-meter individual medley the previous day, Gawilan, however, was apparently preserving his strength for the finals since he owns the current  Asian Para Games mark of 4:51.00 when he won the event in the Indonesian capital five years ago.

Also making it to the finals of the men’s 100-meter backstroke S14 event Tuesday night was APG rookie Joseph Ariel Alegarbes, who clocked 1:01.16 in finishing sixth among the eight finalists in the event.

On the other hand, Cambodia ASEAN Para Games quadruple gold medalist Angel Mae Otom finished a distant fourth in the women’s 200-meter freestyle S5 finals in a time of 3:32.34.

Otom’s teammates, Marco Tinamisan (men’s 100-meter freestyle S4) and Roland Sabio (men’s 200-meter IM SM9) failed to go beyond their respective heats.

Veteran powerlifter Achelle Guion missed out on a podium finish, winding up in fourth place with a lift of 83 kilos in the women’s -45-kilogram division.

(ai/mnm)