Athletics
Winning is part of Eric Cray's DNA.
The Filipino athletics star has clinched his eighth Southeast Asian Games gold medal by taking the 400m hurdles title on Thursday (11 May) at Cambodia 2023.
It was his sixth consecutive 400m hurdles gold.
The Rio 2016 Olympian, who missed out on Tokyo 2020 in 2021 due to injury during the qualifying period, values the SEA Games for his personal history-making run, considerable input into the nation’s medal tally, and as a stepping-stone into the athletics season.
“I’m here to continue the streak,” he told Olympics.com prior to his race. “This is my sixth SEA Games. It's a great facility. It's beautiful. The track feels great, the weather, phew, it's hot but, you know, it's gonna be pretty good to get some fast times out, but definitely the goal is to win. For me personally. I wanna win, get my sixth championship.”
And win he did, the 34-year-old clocking 50.03 seconds at the Morodok Techo Athletics Stadium in Phnom Penh beating his previous SEA Games record of 50.41.
The year ahead includes the Asian Games and Paris 2024 qualification
The 32nd edition of the SEA games precedes a particularly busy year for Asian athletes with Paris 2024 Olympic qualification looming.
“The SEA Games for me is always a great stepping-stone to the next level,” said the America-based athlete. “The Asian Championships is coming up in July and then we have the World Championships in August and then, ultimately, the Asian Games in September.
“So, for all Asian athletes right now, it's just a big year and so for all the SEA countries, this is our first stepping-stone to some great competition to get ready for the Asian level competition.”
And for the Olympics?
“Oh, yes. This is definitely preparation to get ready to qualify in July (at the Asian Championships) for the Olympics. I wanna qualify early, so I don't have to worry about it later on in the beginning of the season next year. So, definitely, man, it's a great stepping-stone.”
Cray’s achievements at the Games, in which he was also the men's 100m champion at Singapore 2015 and 4x100m mixed relay gold medallist in 2019, mean that he is one of the most successful athletes at a SEA Games ever.
Cray's personal legacy continues on his history-making journey.
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