City Commends Athlete for Asian Gold
VOL. XVIII NO. 4 (Nov 1-7, 2014)
BAGUIO CITY – the city government here commended anew 62-year old Erlinda Lavandia for securing the third gold medal for the country in the 18th Asian Masters Athletics Championships (AMAC) held in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
Resolution Number 276 series 2014 commended the Javelin Queen who led the Philippine contingent with one gold, two silvers and a bronze medal in the recently held Masters meet in Kitakami City, Japan.
Earlier, Lavandia settled for bronze in hammer throw and heaved 20.62 meters in discuss throw to settle for second place behind gold medallist Matsuoka Kanako of Japan who clichéd 23.11 meters.
Lavandia again recorded 8.64 meters against Kanako’s 9.52 meters in shot put for her second silver medal.
The high spirited Lavandia, a former Police Officer, a multi-awarded athlete and member of the Philippine Track and Field Team recorded a 30.05 meter distance throw for the 60 to 64 age bracket javelin securing her reign.
‘Her accomplishment is worth commending as it gives pride and prestige not only to the city of Baguio and its constituents but also to our entire nation,’ the resolution read.
It can be recalled that Lavandia dominated the Women’s Javelin throw in the 22nd World Masters Athletic (WMA) Championships in Porto Alegre, Brazil last year with a distance throw of 35.33 meters besting top WMA players Szagri Farkasne of Hungary (28.55m), Mariela Gomez of Colombia (27.67m), Gisele Genevieve of France (25.75m), Wilma Perkins of Australia (24.97m), Eva Nohl of Germany (24.90m), Elisa Yli-Hallila of Finland (24.53m), Elisabet Ekborg of Sweden (24.34m), Zunilda Aranda of Chile (23.98m), Ma Richter Pretto of Brazil (21.61m) and Mercia Ferreira of South Africa (2.56m).
She also made her mark in Chinese, Taipei winning three gold medals during the 17th Asian Masters Athletic Championships.
She is expected to lead the Philippine delegation again in the World Masters Athletic Championships in Lyon, France by 2015 and Daegu, South Korea by 2017./Paul Rillorta
