CHONBURI, Thailand – Naomi Cesar went from being a silver medalist in the Asian Youth Games to gold winner in the Southeast Asian Games on Monday.
The promising 16-year-old trackster captured the women’s 800m in athletics, competing against older opponents at the Supalacahsai National Stadium in Bangkok.
Cesar won in a photo finish with a time of two minutes, 10.2 seconds, beating Nguyen Thi Thu Ha by a mere tenth of a second.
Cesar was coming off a silver in the Asian Youth Games last October in Bahrain where she clocked 2:08.69.
Cesar is also the daughter of former national team sprinter Ben Cesar and sister of Malea, who will also vie for gold medal with the Filipinas facing Vietnam in the women’s football final on Wednesday.
Cesar had a lung-busting final lap to make up for lost time after she tripped at one point in the race.
“I couldn’t ask for a better result,” said Cesar. “I’m kinda shocked. I got tripped a little in the second lap so I left everything in the track.”
“It feels amazing. I’m so honored and so proud to represent the country. To win the gold is a dream come true,” she added.
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