The Philippine men's 4x400-meter relay team. POC-PSC Media Pool.
The Philippine men's team set a new national record in the 4x400-meter relay, but it was not enough for them to reach the podium in the 19th Asian Games, Wednesday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium.
Umajesty Williams, Michael del Prado, Joyme Sequita and Frederick Ramirez ran a combined 3:04.89 in the finals -- good for fifth among eight finalists.
They smashed the record that they set just the night before in the heats, of 3:06.15.
India won the gold with a time of 3:01.58, followed by Qatar (3:02.05) and Sri Lanka (3:02.55). The Filipinos finished behind their Southeast Asian rivals Thailand, which pipped them for fourth place with a time of 3:04.23.
First runner Williams had the best performance from the group with 43.21 seconds, followed by final runner Del Prado, son of athletic legend Isidro, with a 45.79. Sequita ran 47.02, while Ramirez had the weakest showing of 48.87 as the second runner.
Meanwhile, the women’s 4x400 Philippine team of Fil-heritage athletes Lauren Hoffman, Robyn Brown, Angel Frank and Maureen Maureen Schrijvers also finished 5th in the finals with a clocking of 3:40.78.
Bahrain, anchored by 400m hurdles champion Oluwakemi Mujidat Adekoya, emerged as champion with a time of 3:27.65, with India (3:27.85) and Sri Lanka (3:30.88) placing 2nd and 3rd, respectively.