Robyn Brown achieved a golden breakthrough against fancied Paris Olympian Lauren Hoffman late Thursday night, dominating the women’s 400-meter hurdles in runaway fashion during a thrilling second day of the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.
Running in cool conditions following an early evening downpour, Brown pulled away in the homestretch to beat Hoffman for the first time in three head-to-head match-ups. She clocked 57.39 seconds — a time slightly faster than her 57.50-second finish when she captured the gold medal at the Asian Championships in Bangkok two years ago.
She now sets her sights on defending that title at the 2025 edition in Gumi, South Korea later this month.
Still nursing a left Achilles heel injury, Hoffman chose not to chase the reigning Asian champion once Brown surged ahead. The Olympian settled for silver in 1:00.20, while Thailand’s Anisa Wenuwamarak took bronze with a 1:00.42 finish in the meet organized by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association and backed by the ICTSI Foundation and CEL Logistics.
After the race, Brown and Hoffman shared a warm embrace and brief chat, reinforcing the mutual respect between the two as they continue to represent the Philippines in international competition.
Adding drama to the night, Fil-Am sprinter Kristina Knott — competing for the first time on the same track where she won two golds in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games — suffered a bad stumble in the final two meters of the women’s 200-meter run.
Despite the fall on the wet lane, she held on for the win.
Sporting visible bruises on her right shoulder, knee, and hip, the Tokyo Olympian clocked 24.12 seconds, narrowly beating Jessica Laurance of Pinoy Athletics (24.25). Papua New Guinea’s Patricia Kuku finished third in 25.84. The event was also supported by Pocari Sweat, Milo, and United Auctioneers Inc.
Another highlight was Fil-Am sprinter Marc Anthony Rosario’s record-breaking victory in the men’s 200 meters. Representing FILAM Sports, Rosario clocked 20.82 seconds, breaking the national record of 20.84 set by Trenten Beram when he won gold in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, newly arrived from a long flight from the United States, Fil-Am runner Yacine Guermali still proved dominant, cruising to victory in the men’s 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:13.99. National teammate Sonny Wagdos came in second at 14:56.97, while Spectrum’s Prince Lee took bronze in 15:11.42.
In the women’s division, Army’s Joida Gagnao topped the event with a time of 17:53.00 in this tournament that also had support from the Philippine Sports Commission, EnergyA, Wireless Link, and BCDA-New Clark City.
“It feels good, and she (Hoffman) is a strong competitor — we’ve already seen that,” said Brown, who got married last November, acknowledging the friendly rivalry between her and the former Duke University standout.
She added, “Winning the race in a fast time is definitely a stepping stone in gearing up for the Asian Championships so I can secure my title, but I still have a lot of work to do, especially with the hurdles.”
Brown shared her future plans: “After the Asian meet, my next target will be the world championships since I have never competed in Tokyo before. So I definitely want to be there.”
Hoffman was gracious in defeat, saying, “Congrats to Robyn. She deserves this victory.”
While not making excuses, she explained, “I’m still favoring my recovering left Achilles heel, so I’m using my distance spikes and not my sprint spikes since (the injury) is still hurting. My abilities are limited right now.
“I just want to get healthy, but I would not pass this opportunity to compete here since I love this meet. But definitely, we will be training for the Asian meet and hope to be better by then.”
On the other hand, Knott remained upbeat despite her fall, saying, “It’s good to be back. It is good to be back at Clark. Maybe I was feeling the jet lag and my legs were heavy, so I told myself ‘better hurry up,’ and I fell.”
She revealed that she arrived just last Monday noon after a grueling 30-hour flight from Texas.
“But it’s okay. It is very nostalgic to be back here. No pain, no gain,” she added, confirming that she would return to action for the women’s 100-meter dash the following day.
