Wagdos snatches another silver medal.
Rewritten Article:
Sonny Wagdos, the 31-year-old Philippine track and field star, bagged another runner-up finish just six days after snatching a silver medal at the 2025 Singapore Open Track and Field Championships. This time, he clinched silver in the men's 5,000-meter final at the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships held on May 1, 2025, at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.
Wagdos, a alum from the University of Mindanao (UM)-Davao City and a silver medalist at the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Cambodia, completed the 5,000-meter race in 14 minutes and 58.97 seconds (14:58.97), trailing behind his national teammate Yacine Guermali, who claimed gold with a time of 14:35.99 in a field of 40 runners. Prince Joey Lee, representing Spectrum of Sto. Niño Dialysis Center, finished third with a time of 15:11.42.
In an interview with Davao on May 2, Wagdos voiced his disappointment over the last-minute decision to divide the 5,000-meter event into two heats, which he felt would have given him a better shot at winning, given that he could have matched his pace with Guermali in one race.
"If we ran together, I might have lost to him, but our time would've been incredibly fast," Wagdos said. "It was only announced in the morning that there would be two heats for the 5K, and our event was in the evening. Why is it that before, even when there were many participants, we weren't split up?" Wagdos questioned.
Dividing long-distance races like the 5,000 meters into heats is a common practice to manage the number of participants, ensure fair competition, and provide optimal racing conditions. The exact reasons for splitting the event at the 2025 ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships remain unclear.
Sonny Wagdos, a track and field athlete from the Philippines, expressed his disappointment over the last-minute decision to divide the 5,000-meter event into two heats at the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships held in Davao. Wagdos, who competed at the event on May 1, 2025, felt this decision may have impacted his chance of winning the gold medal, as he could have matched his pace with national teammate Yacine Guermali in one race. The 32nd Southeast Asian Games athlete, who represented the University of Mindanao-Davao City, completed the race in 14 minutes and 58.97 seconds, finishing behind Guermali and Prince Joey Lee.
