An island gal and a farmer’s son gave honor to the country as they bagged gold medals on the second day of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), Dec. 2.
Lea Denise Belgira, a native of Buenavista, Guimaras, pulled off a stunner after snatching the first gold medal in the mountain bike downhill tournament.
After coming up short in yesterday’s cross-country race, Belgira dominated the women’s event and finished the course in three minutes and 9.781 seconds to deliver the country’s first cycling gold.
Belgira outplayed Indonesia’s Tiara Andini Prastika, who clocked in three minutes and 16.986 seconds; and Thailand’s Vipavee Deekaballes, who completed the podium finish after a 3:17.607 clocking.
The victory came after Ilongga cyclist Ariana Dormitorio failed to get a gold medal in the women’s mountain bike cross country race at the Tatlong Bungo in Barangay Niyugan. She suffered a spill heading into the final lap, hitting her head, allowing Dinh Thi Nhu Quynh of Vietnam to take the lead and win the gold with a time of one hour, 36 minutes and 43 seconds.
Meanwhile, Ilonggo martial artist Edmar Tacuel’s dream of winning a gold medal in this year’s SEA Games was realized after he topped the pencak silat competition.
The pride of Barangay Nagban, Tubungan, ruled the Men’s Seni Tunggal Singles event at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center. He collected a total score of 470 points ahead of Singapore’s Rahman Abdul, who settled for silver with 461 points; and Indonesia’s Dino Sulistianto, who finished bronze with 460 points.
Tacuel started his playing career at Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U), where he finished his secondary education. He starred in various local and national tournaments – three silver medals in the 2013 Batang Pinoy in Maasin City, Southern Leyte. He also bagged silver in the 1st World Beach Pencak Silat at Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand.
Tacuel, whose father is a farmer, is the sixth among a brood of seven children. He used to compete in arnis before a friend asked him to try his luck at pencak silat. He got a spot in the national team in April and joined the squad in a pair of training camps in Singapore and Thailand.IMT
