As expected, Bossong wins gold in 800 meters

MANILA, Philippines — Fil-Am sensation Victoria Bossong showed promise as she ruled the event she was expected to dominate – the women’s 800 meters – yesterday in the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at the PhilSports oval.

The 21-year-old Harvard standout clocked two minutes and 9.56 seconds in besting the local challengers, national team mainstay Bernalyn Bejoy, who had 2:12.48, and Far Eastern University’s Susan Ramadan, who checked in at 2:17.88.

It was faster than the time she registered in the morning heats – 2:12.7 – but it was way slower from her personal best of 2:00.92 she registered in last March’s US NCAA Division I race, which barely grazed the Paris Olympic standard of 1:59.30.

It was still enough though to remind everyone that she’s for real.

“Unfortunately, it’s still in the process but I’m excited to compete for the Philippines, still excited for the future,” said Bossong, whose mother is Puerto Galera native Annie Yaco Atienza, when asked if she already got her Philippine passport.

After the race, Bossong proceeded to the airport and flew back home to Maine on an evening flight to prepare for the NCAA Regionals in a week and the finals a week or two later.

National team mainstay Hussein Loraña, fresh from his feat in a Hong Kong tilt just more than a week before, continued to show promise as he ruled the men’s 800m in 1:51.32.

David Paul Matibag of Mandaluyong and Oyamkeri Espinosa of University of Santo Tomas timed in 1:52.34 and 1:52.63 to settle for the silver and bronze, respectively.