PWD athlete bags 3 bronze medals
12th ASEAN PARA GAMES
THE provincial board has commended an athlete with disability for bagging three bronze medals in men’s 100 meters T46, 400 meters T46 and 200 meters T46 track and field events during the recently concluded 12th ASEAN Para Games held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The shy Jerome Doria Fernandez, 29, from Barangay Tonton, Lingayen told The PUNCH in an interview that he started to train for track and field in 2014 when he was 23 years old.
It was a coach of the Philippine team who discovered his potentials when he joined a fun run of the Luzon leg for the national finals for Philippine Games held in Ultra, Pasig City.
He said he was with coach Lanie Adawag with a group from Pangasinan that joined the Pasig athletic event.
His three gold in Luzon leg, two silver and one bronze in Philippine National Games finals qualified him for the Para Games in Cambodia.
Fernandez said he will continue training and is awaiting a call that will confirm his joining the Asian Games in China.
He said when he won in Cambodia, he was overwhelmed with joy, and offering his victory to his family and hopes to make this as his stepping stone to uplift their lives.
Fernandez is the fifth among six siblings. His mom Myrna is a vegetable vendor whom he helps sell their wares in a shared stall in Lingayen while his dad Jaime already died.
He added that his athletic triumph is a testament that an athlete with disability like him can still be useful and bring pride to the country.
When he was a child, he said he was also bullied and was called “pokol” for having only a half right arm, a condition he was born with.
But now that he is already a medalist in his chosen sports event, Fernandez gave this message: Hindi hadlang ang kapansanan. Kailangan nating ipakita sa buong mundo na kaya nating makipagsabayan sa mga able-bodied. (Eva Visperas)
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