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| Naomi Cesar proudly waved the Philippine flag after she won silver in the YOG. POC Media Pool |
MANILA—Naomi Cesar set history as the first Filipino trackster to land a medal in the Youth Olympic Games after winning the silver in the 800-meter run early Tuesday (Philippine Time) in Dakar.
"It still doesn't feel real like, when I crossed the line I was like, 'Oh my gosh! I just medaled at the Youth Olympics,'" said the younger sister of former Filipinas player Malea Cesar, who completed the two-lap race from Lane 5 at two minutes and 9.34 seconds.
Naomi did just enough to beat Morocco's Khadija Elmostaqim, who settled for bronze at 2:10.05, and Slovenia's Masa Weber, who finished fourth at 2:10.58, for second place, the closest a Filipino got to a YOG gold without being part of a mixed NOC.
It came down to the final turn of race, where Cesar zoomed past Elmostaqim and Weber to steal the silver.
"I was kind of waiting for the end to just turn it on and go and just tell myself that when I start running, no one can catch me and I can catch whoever I set my eyes on. So I just trusted in myself," Cesar further said.
Hours before the final, Cesar got an opportunity to get some advice from marathoning legend Eliud Kipchoge.
"He was just telling me like to just go out there and compete and have fun and just be proud of yourself and how far you've come," Cesar shared what Kipchoge told her.
Ethiopia's Netsanet Selemon ruled the race at 2:04.43, which set a new personal best.
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