RP's Manipol gets gold at Thailand track tourney

MANILA, Philippines - Mercedita Manipol brought home a gold medal from the 54th Thailand Open, which was taged from April 26 to 29 at Thammasat University in Rangsit, Thailand. The other members of the Philippines team that competed in the annual competition also bagged two silver and two bronze medals, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA). Manipol won in her favorite 5-kilometer run, clocking 17:54.40 minutes and besting Thailand's Saifon Biawong (18:11.98) and Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Bich Tram (18:14.93). Manipol won a gold medal in the same event at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games held in the Philippines. Rene Herrera finished as runner-up to Chinese Taipei's Wu Wen-chen in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Herrera clocked in at 9:10.06 against Wu's 9:04.80. Also bringing home a silver was the 4x400-meter relay team that was led by Ernie Candelario and Julius Nierras. The RP team clocked in at 3:13.54 behind the Thais' 3:13.43 winning time. Julius Sermona and Joebert Delicano finished with bronze medals in 5,000-meter run and long jump, respectively. - GMANews.TV