Marestella Torres Sunang leapt to a ninth-place finish in what could be her last Asian Games, while Eric Cray stumbled in the men’s 400m hurdles on Monday night at the Gelora Bung Karko Main Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Sunang – who for the longest time remained unbeatable in long jump in the Philippines – forced her 37-year-old legs to a 6.15-meter distance, which was only good for ninth place in the 11-woman final of the event.
All her rivals were at least nine years her junior, with Vietnam’s Thiu Thu Tao Bui, 26, winning the gold with a leap of 6.55m. India’s Neena Varakil, 28, took the silver with 6.51, and China’s Xu Xiaoling, also 26, settling for the bronze with 6.50.
Cray, who at 29 was also the oldest in his event’s final, placed seventh as he succumbed to the full weight of the world-class field.
Cray clocked 51.53, which was even slower than his 50.54 in the semifinals.
The top five finishers of the 400m hurdles all broke the 50-second barrier. Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba setting a new Asian Games’ record of 47.66 that shattered the 16-year-old mark of 48.42 by Al Somaily Has during the 2002 Busan Games.
Cray, a two-time 400m hurdles’ champion of the SEA Games (Myanmar and Singapore), will again try his luck in the 4×100 with Anfernee Lopena, Clayton Bautista, and Trenten Beram on Thursday.
Beram and fellow Fil-American Kristina Knott joins the 200 meters on Wednesday.
On Friday, EJ Obiena plunges into action in the men’s pole vault.
