By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Lydia De Vega’s 33-year record in the 100-meter dash was just broken.
Filipino-American Kristina Knott, who’s a part of the national athletics team of the Philippines, recorded an astonishing 11.27-seconds in the Drake Blue Oval Showcase to ink her name as the new national record-holder in the 100-m dash.
Knott was only a millisecond ahead of De Vega, who for years held the record with her 11.28-seconds during the 1987 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The decorated Fil-Am is hoping to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and needs to clinch a medal in every tourney she joins to punch a ticket to the grandest sporting event next year.
However, Knott’s impressive feat during the Drake Blue Oval only landed her the second place behind USA’s Kyla White who registered 11.18-seconds.
The 24-year-old runner is currently preparing for a possible Tokyo Olympics appearance and vowed to put the flag of the Philippines among the list of competitors in track and field.