Runner Rene Herrera is the latest Filipino to bow out of the Olympics after failing to qualify for the final round of the 5000m running event at the 2012 London games, Wednesday.

The Filipino clocked in at 14:44:11, his personal best, for last place in the first heat. Hayle Ibrahimov of Azerbaijan clocked in at 13:25:23 for first place in the heat, with Hagos Gebhriwet of Ethiopia grabbing the final qualifying slot for the final round with a time of 13:26:16.

From the beginning, Herrera was a long shot to make it to the final round based on his previous performances. The Navyman's personal best was 14:51:40, while several of his competitors' best times were well under the Olympic record of 12:57:82.

Coming into the first round, Ethiopian Dejen Gebremeskel clocked in a personal and season best of 12:46:81, 11 seconds better than the Olympic record, but still nine seconds more than the world record of 12:37:35.

At least eight of the 32 runners held times better than the current Olympic record coming into the event.

The 33-year-old Iloilo native trained in Baguio prior to leaving for London. Herrera is also only one of two Asians to qualify for the event, along with Japanese Yuki Sato.

The event is still dominated by Africans, with 16 runners in the event. - AMD, GMA news