Golden biker! BMX rider Caluag wins PH's first Asian Games gold
At long last, the Philippines finally got a gold medal in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games courtesy of Daniel Patrick Caluag, who topped the Cycling BMX event.
Caluag topped the seeding race and swept Heats 1 to 3 in a strong performance to finally give the Philippines its much-awaited gold medal.
His brother Christopher John Caluag was on pace to win a bronze medal after Heat 2 but he struggled in the final race to finish fourth overall.
Daniel Patrick finished the seeding run at the top of the group after clocking in at 35.489, .797 seconds ahead of Japanese rider Masahiro Sampei.
Christopher John seeded at eighth as he registered a time of 37.005 seconds.
Daniel Patrick continued to dominate the event in the medal round as he clocked in at an even faster time of 35.277. Sampei stayed within striking distance with a time of 35.444.
The younger Caluag turned in a spirited performance as he leapfrogged five places to finish third with a time of 36.427 in Heat 1.
The Filipino Olympian and the Japanese rider continued their neck-and-neck battle in Heat 2 as Daniel Patrick had a time of 35.366 seconds while Sampei came in only .120 seconds later. The other Caluag finished fourth as China’s Yan Zhu took the third spot but the Filipino was still on pace for a bronze medal at that point.
There was a slight delay before the start of the third race, which allowed the bikers to get a short breather.
Daniel Patrick came out stronger in the last race clocking at 35.431. China’s Zhu took the second spot in the last race, which relegated Christopher John to the fourth spot overall and robbing him of a bronze medal finish.
With the gold medal, the Philippines now has a 1-2-4 gold-silver-bronze medal count.
