Robyn Brown pulls away from Lauren Hoffman on the way to victory in the women's 400-meter hurdles of the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac late Thursday evening.
MANILA, Philippines – Robyn Brown achieved a golden breakthrough against fancied Paris Olympian Lauren Hoffman late Thursday night, ruling the women's 400-meter hurdles in runaway fashion in an event-packed second day of the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium.
Running in cool conditions after an early evening downpour, Brown broke away at the homestretch to beat Hoffman for the first time in three head-to-head clashes, clocking 57.39 seconds.
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"It feels good, and she (Hoffman) is a strong competitor, and we've already seen that," said Brown, who got married last November, acknowledging the rivalry between her and the former Duke University varsity standout.
She added that winning the race in a fast time "is definitely a stepping stone in gearing up for the Asian championships so I can secure my title, but I still have a lot of work to do, especially with the hurdles."
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Her time was slightly faster than the 57.50 seconds when she won the gold medal in the Asian meet held in Bangkok, Thailand two years ago which she hopes to defend in the 2025 edition in Gumi, South Korea by the end of the month.
Still recovering from a left Achilles heel injury, Hoffman didn't chase the reigning Asian champion once she pulled away, content to settle for runner-up honors in 1:00.20 and Thai Anisa Wenuwamarak taking third (1:00.42).
After the race, Brown and Hoffman warmly hugged each other and had a short chat, underscoring the fact that there was no bad blood between them as they continued to represent the country internationally.
Adding drama in her first stint on the same track where she won two golds in the 2019 Philippine Southeast Asian Games, Fil-Am sprinter Kristina Knott stumbled badly in the last two meters on a wet lane but still won the women's 200-meter run.
Sporting bruises on her right shoulder, knee, and hip after the race, the Tokyo Olympic Games veteran checked in 24.12 seconds, with Jessica Laurance of Pinoy Athletics (24.25) and Papua New Guinea's Patricia Kuku (25.84) coming in second and third, respectively.
Notable was the victory of Fil-Am Marc Anthony Rosario, carrying the colors of FILAM Sports, in the men's 200 meters, clocking 20.82 seconds to eclipse the national mark of 20.84 seconds of Trenten Beram when he bagged the gold medal in the same event in the 2017 Malaysia Southeast Asian Games.
Preferring to coast along after arriving from a long trip from the US last Monday, Fil-Am Yacine Guermali still was in a class of his own, topping the men's 5,000-meter run in 14:13.99 while national teammate Sonny Wagdos was a far second (14:56.97) and Spectrum's Prince Lee took the bronze (15:11.42) took the bronze.
Army's Joida Gagnao topped the distaff side (17:53.00).