Filipino American pole vaulter Natalie Uy broke her own Philippine National Record in her performance at the Acadia Invitational in Greenville, North Carolina.
The pole vaulter cleared 4.30 meters to break her personal best of 4.25 meters which she recorded during her gold-winning performance at the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2019.
The 25-year-old athlete ranked 6th out of 10 women pole vaulters who participated in the Acadia competition held on July 17, 2020, a backyard sanctioned event, using a facility built by Olympian Sandi Morris and her father.
Uy’s feat in the United States competition made her the SEA regional record holder in Women’s Pole Vault, together with Chayanisa Choemchindee of Thailand who also recorded the same height in 2018.
The Fil-Am athlete has continued her training despite the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the globe.
“Obviously with the quarantine and everything, it’s been really tough to self-motivate by yourself working out. So just being around all the girls with the crowd, it’s been absolutely incredible,” said Uy in the ESPN live stream interview during the games.
The Fil-Am pole vaulter is aiming to reach the 4.70 meters Olympic standard to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Uy is seeking to join fellow pole vaulter EJ Obiena, the first Tokyo Olympics Qualifier from the Philippines, who leads the Philippine Olympic team that also includes gymnast Caloy Yulo and boxers Eumir Marcial and Irish Magno.
Filipino athletes continue to shine abroad including former Ateneo and Gilas star player Thirdy Ravena who recently became the 1st Asian import in Japan’s B League.
Team Philippines, bannered by Neon Esports, crushed Team Vietnam in the Grand Finals of the 1st Razer SEA Invitational’s Dota 2 held recently.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to Fil-Am pole vaulter Natalie Uy for smashing her Philippine record during the Acadia competition in the United States.
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