Eric Cray falls short of reaching Olympic 400m hurdles finals after finishing seventh in semifinals

RIO DE JANEIRO - Eric Cray bowed out of the semifinals of the Olympic 400-meter hurdles on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro (Wednesday, Manila time).

The Fil-American track athlete clocked 49.37 for a disappointing seventh in the first semifinal, failing to match or much less surpass his 49.05 in the qualifying heats two days ago after failing to clear one hurdle.

American Kerron Clement topped the first of three semifinal races with a 48.26-second run, towing Kenya’s Boniface Mucheru (48.85) to the final.

Four runners from the second semifinal led by Jamaica’s Annsert Whyte in 48.32 advanced to the gold medal run.

Source: Jerome Ascano of Spin.ph

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PH Olympic bet Eric Cray advances to 400m hurdles semifinals

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Filipino-American trackster Eric Crayqualified for the semifinals of the men's 400m hurdles in the 2016 Summer Olympics on Monday, August 15 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil.

The 27-year-old Cray, born to a Filipina mother in Olongapo City and an American father but raised in Texas, finished third in heat 4 of round 1 of competition with a time of 49.05 seconds. His personal best time is 48.98 seconds. The top 3 finishers of each of the 6 heats will advance to the semifinals along with the next 6 fastest runners.

The two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, who was feeling confident coming into the race, will run the semifinals on Wednesday, August 17. The final, should he make it, will be on Thursday, August 18.

Aside from Cray, there are only two other Filipinos left in contention at Rio with long jumper Marestella Torres-Sunang set to compete on Wednesday, and taekwondo jin Kirstie Alora taking the mat Saturday for the 67kg Round of 16.

Only weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz has put the Philippines on the medal table with a silver for the country's very first Olympic hardware in 20 years.

Below is the full list of semifinalists for men's 400m hurdles

Screengrab from Rio Olympics website

– Rappler.com

Author: Jane Bracher

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High hopes for Rio gold after Eric Cray's World Challenge silver

Cray smashes the Philippine national record at 48.98 in the 400-meter hurdles at the IAAF World Challenge Cup in Madrid

MANILA, Philippines – After Eric Cray's performance at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Challenge Cup in Madrid where he nearly bagged the gold in the 400-meter hurdles, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) expressed high hopes of a gold medal finish in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In a neck-and-neck finish at the Moratalaz Sports Complex in Madrid, American hurdles specialist Jeshua Anderson needed a strong finish to hold off Cray for the gold.

Anderson clocked in a 48.96 while Cray smashed the Philippine national record at 48.98. Spain's Sergio Fernandez claimed the bronze at 49.02, just a mere 0.02 shy of their national mark.

PATAFA president Philip Juico expressed joy and hope at Cray's performance.

"That was a huge triumph for the country. That was a breakthrough time of under 49 seconds," said Juico.

"It shows that Eric is heading into Rio with his morale and confidence at an all-time high. Eric's coach, Davian Clarke, believes that he can realistically aim for a 48.50 time for a possible gold. Should this target be hit, we could be in line for the country's first-ever gold medal in the Olympics and in athletics."

The Texas-born Cray's latest finish is ranked by the IAAF as the 11th best finish for 2016.

"We're not yet done," added Juico. "We still have Marestella Torres-Sunang still in the running for a spot in the Philippine contingent for Rio. She wasn't able to qualify for Rio when she was measured at 6.52 meters in an athletics meet in Kyrgyzstan. The qualifying mark is set at 6.7 meters. There is one more chance for her to qualify and that is a tournament in Kazakhstan in the next few days."

Juico added that qualifying for Rio would be a nice parting shot for Torres-Sunang who is now 35 years old.

The bemedalled long jump specialist from Negros Oriental has won 5 golds, one silver, and two bronze medals, representing the country since the 2002 Asian Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka. – Rappler.com

Source: Rick Olivares of Rappler.com

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