MANILA, Philippines – Filipino athlete Kristina Knott has just made history setting new Southeast Asian (SEA) Games record in track and field.
The newest rising star of track and field, Knott left her competitors in the dust when she sprinted at the SEA Games on Saturday at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Tarlac.
In an impressive feat, Knott broke two SEA Games record in one day. In her first run, she recorded 23.07 seconds in the women's 200m preliminaries. The record broke the running legend Lydia De Vega's record of 23.35 seconds, which she held for over 33 years.
During the finals, Knott clocked in at 23.01 seconds shattering another SEA Games record of 23.30 set by Supavadee Khawpeag of Thailand in 2001.
Following Knott in the competition was Indonesia's Alvin Tehupeiory who finished at 24.09 seconds. Third on the race is Vietnam's Thi Thu Ha with a time of 24.45 seconds.
Knott admitted she wasn't able to follow her coach's instructions but was thankful she still won. She said, "My coach told me to relax and be calm but I wasn't able to do it. But it's OK, I got the gold. I'm not mad."
The record-breaking runner is eyeing to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where a standard time of 22.80 seconds is required.
"I have until June to make it. It's less than a year but I'm going back to training after this. Hopefully, I can train somewhere magnificent," Knott added.
According to Rohsaan Griffin, Knott's coach they were aiming to meet the Olympic qualifying time in this year's SEA Games.
"We prepared for it. That's all I've been focusing on the entire year. We wanted to get the Olympic standard, we fell kinda short, but let's see if how she gets, since she's capable of getting it," Griffin said.
In last year's Asian Games, the winning record was set by Edidiong Odiong of Bahrain at a time of 22.96 seconds.
— Sally, The Summit Express
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| Kristina Knott breaks record at the SEA Games | Photo Courtesy: SEA Games 2019 |
The newest rising star of track and field, Knott left her competitors in the dust when she sprinted at the SEA Games on Saturday at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium in Tarlac.
In an impressive feat, Knott broke two SEA Games record in one day. In her first run, she recorded 23.07 seconds in the women's 200m preliminaries. The record broke the running legend Lydia De Vega's record of 23.35 seconds, which she held for over 33 years.
During the finals, Knott clocked in at 23.01 seconds shattering another SEA Games record of 23.30 set by Supavadee Khawpeag of Thailand in 2001.
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| Knott is eyeing to qualify for the 2020 Olympics | Photo Courtesy: ABS-CBN |
Following Knott in the competition was Indonesia's Alvin Tehupeiory who finished at 24.09 seconds. Third on the race is Vietnam's Thi Thu Ha with a time of 24.45 seconds.
Knott admitted she wasn't able to follow her coach's instructions but was thankful she still won. She said, "My coach told me to relax and be calm but I wasn't able to do it. But it's OK, I got the gold. I'm not mad."
The record-breaking runner is eyeing to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where a standard time of 22.80 seconds is required.
"I have until June to make it. It's less than a year but I'm going back to training after this. Hopefully, I can train somewhere magnificent," Knott added.
According to Rohsaan Griffin, Knott's coach they were aiming to meet the Olympic qualifying time in this year's SEA Games.
"We prepared for it. That's all I've been focusing on the entire year. We wanted to get the Olympic standard, we fell kinda short, but let's see if how she gets, since she's capable of getting it," Griffin said.
In last year's Asian Games, the winning record was set by Edidiong Odiong of Bahrain at a time of 22.96 seconds.
— Sally, The Summit Express
