New Palarong Pambansa sprint king? Palawan's Marc Marcos shrugs off label even after ruling 100m, 200m events

AGUSAN DEL SUR — In his first and last Palarong Pambansa stint, Marc Marcos made a statement.

The sprinter from Palawan ruled the prestigious 100m event on Wednesday night at the Datu Lipus Makapandaong Governor D.O. Sports Complex. The 18-year-old track star clocked 10.98 seconds to take home his second gold medal in the ongoing tournament.

By doing so, Marcos completed a double-medal haul in the sprint after also dominating the 200m event on Tuesday with a time of 21.86 seconds.

He replicated the feat Pi Durden Wangkay of NCR did last year, when the second-generation trackster topped both the 100m and 200m events to become the 'sprint king' of Palaro.

That label now belongs to Marcos, but the Puerto Princesa native refuses to accept the tag since Wangkay didn't compete in this year's Palarong Pambansa edition as he is participating in the Asian U20 Athletics Championships.

"Hindi ko rin po masasabi na ako ‘yung hari ng sprint kasi marami pa pong malalakas, wala lang siya dito kasi nagco-compete siya sa iba," Marcos said.

"Siya po ‘yung may title no’n. Siya ‘yung Philippine team."

Regardless, Marcos is proud to see his previous setbacks and hardwork finally pay off.

Marcos revealed he was denied a Palaro spot the first time he tried out after falling short in the regional qualifiers. In the months between, Marcos worked to improve his skills so that when he reached the Palaro stage, he could dominate.

"First time ko po mag-Palaro. Sobrang saya po kasi una po sa lahat, umuulan po, kaya feeling ko baka hindi ako maka-compete nang maayos," he added.

"Focus lang po sa finish line hanggang makaabot sa finish line."

—JKC, GMA News