Kristina Knott admits she wasn’t supposed to run the 100m where she broke Diay’s 33-year-old record

“The best things in life are unexpected because there were no expectations“Says English writer Eli Khamarov.

That turned out to be true for Fil-American sprinter Kristina Knott, who admitted she wasn’t supposed to compete in the 100-meter event at the Drake Blue Oval Meet in Iowa, where she eventually broke the 33-year-old national and Southeast Asia. . Game record of the legendary Lydia De Vega-Mercado.

In a video interview with sportscaster Dyan Castillejo, Knott said he was only supposed to do the 200-meter event, but received a call saying he could run both the 100 and 200 meters.

“But then I checked the heat sheets on Thursday and I thought, my name is only at 100,” he said.

It turned out that the athletes who initially took Knott’s place in the 200 meters confirmed the last minute, causing the 24-year-old to lose her place.

“In my mind, I am preparing for 200 and all of that went out the window. I’ve been training for 200 and I was ready to break my own record, ”she said.

The 200 meters was his favorite event, where he currently holds the national record of 23.01 seconds.

Despite these late developments, Knott continued to perform at his best in his career.

She settled for silver behind Kayla White (11.18 seconds), but broke De Vega-Mercado’s PH and SEAG record of 11.28 seconds by timing 11.27 seconds.

De Vega-Mercado set the record eight years before Knott was born.

With this feat, Knott is now focused on qualifying for two events for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. The standard Olympic qualification times in the 100 and 200 meters are 11.15 seconds and 22.80 seconds.

Meanwhile, Philippine Athletics Association president Philip Ella Juico hopes that more races will be available in the coming months before the Olympics that Knott and his fellow Olympics hopefuls could participate in.

“Despite the lack of competition, she (Knott) still hasn’t peaked, says her speed coach Rohsaan Griffin,” Juico said. “But Griffin emphasized that he can definitely improve with more races.”

“I am hopeful that with almost a year from Tokyo (Olympics), the growing number of competitions, the well-coordinated approach of (strength and training) Catlo Buzzicelli and Griffin, the determined determination of Kristina and the next additional support. de If PSC and PATAFA are willing to invest in all of their athletes and coaches, Kristina can get a place in both events. “

Juico is also optimistic of other athletes seeking Olympic spots such as sprinter Eric Cray, pole vaulter Natalie Uy and marathon runner Christine Hallasgo.

So far, the pole vault EJ Obiena has qualified for the Tokyo Games for the PH team along with gymnast Carlos Yulo and boxers Irish Magno and Eumir Felix Marcial.