Twelve-year-old Andrey Aquino of Calabarzon clinched his second gold medal in the Palarong Pambansa athletics competition after dominating the elementary boys’ high jump with a 1.68-meter leap on Wednesday at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. Memorial Stadium.
Aquino’s teammate Datu Mark Urbano took bronze with a 1.60m jump, while Caraga’s Jhade Singatao of Agusan del Sur claimed silver at 1.65m.
“Very happy, it’s my first time to join the Palaro and I can’t believe that I already won two golds,” said Aquino, a graduate of Bagumbayan Elementary School in Teresa, Rizal.
He earlier won his first gold in the 110m hurdles on Monday, clocking 16.62 seconds ahead of Soccsksargen’s Keian Angelo Penaso (16.67) and Central Luzon’s Prince Jaren Fajardo (17.45).
Aquino, who only started training in athletics in 2023, is set to compete in two more events — the 4x400m relay on Thursday and the 4x100m relay on Friday.
“Hopefully, I can win my last two events. I will do my best,” said the youngest of four siblings.
Meanwhile, as of 4 p.m., the National Capital Region remained on top of the overall medal tally with 52 golds, 26 silvers, and 16 bronzes. Calabarzon followed with 24 golds, 35 silvers, and 19 bronzes. Western Visayas placed third (16-19-16), trailed by Northern Mindanao (16-13-21), Central Visayas (8-10-13), Davao (8-9-10), Caraga (8-6-13), Central Luzon (7-8-14), CAR (7-8-2), and Bicol (5-4-15).