Twelve-year-old Jihad Salbio of Abra shattered a regional record in the javelin throw on Tuesday, securing his first gold medal and a spot in the Palarong Pambansa at the Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (CARAA) meet.
Salbio, a Grade 6 student at Dilong Elementary School, recorded a heave of 43.06 meters. The performance erased the previous mark of 42.74 meters set in 2024 by Apayao’s Eljun Patras
The victory marked a significant redemption for Salbio, who failed to medal in the elementary discus throw earlier in the competition.
“I felt weak when I didn’t get a medal in the discus throw, so I told myself I would just make up for it,” Salbio said in Iloco.
His transition to the podium was unlikely; Salbio was a former table tennis player who shifted to throwing events just 20 days before the regional meet after coaches identified his physical potential.
Ifugao’s Jherick Abbacan also qualified for the national games, taking silver with a 41.35-meter throw. Benguet’s Vann Cyrick Aquino claimed the bronze at 35.84 meters.
Baguio City continued its traditional dominance on the second day of competition, pulling away with a total of 16 gold medals. The “Summer Capital” bets secured victories in the triple jump, arnis, and the 400-meter dash.
In the secondary division, John Edward Carbonel collected his second medal of the meet, winning the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 13.83 seconds. He edged out Nathan Malabato of Mountain Province (silver) and fellow Baguio athlete Yulhexis Rocili (bronze).
Host Benguet added five more golds to trail the Summer Capital bets with 9-4-6 medal haul as Mountain Province is showing signs of resurgence with its 3-6-2 output and is currently at third place.
Kalinga has also taken three gold medals with four silvers and six bronze with Apayao (1-3-2) and Ifugao(1-1-1) at 7th and 8th respectively. Roderick Osis