FILIPINA American sprinter Kristina Knott bagged the silver medal in the 93rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, as she begins her qualifying bid for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Fil-Am track star clocked in at 11.54 seconds, finishing behind Kiara Parker, who registered 11.20 seconds during the women’s 100-meter dash event held at the University of Texas-Mike A. Myers Stadium on March 27.
Knott’s trainer, Coach Rohsaan Griffin, who has also been the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association consultant since 2016, said her season-opening stint “was not bad per se.”
“She had a few technical flaws with the race setup, and had poor execution, but nothing to panic about,” noted Griffin.
Knott, 25, currently holds the Philippines’ national record for both the 100 meters and the 200 meters sprints.
In 2019, she broke the record set by Filipina sports legend Lydia de Vega-Mercado when she recorded a time of 23.01 seconds during the women’s 200-meter dash in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, taking home the gold medal.
Last year, she clocked in at 11.27 seconds during the Drake Blue Oval Showcase meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, eclipsing the 33-year-old record of 11.28 set by De Vega in the 1987 Jakarta SEAG.
Knott is reportedly set to compete at the Pure Athletics meet in Clairemont, Florida on April 3.
She is also scheduled to see action at the Miramar Invitational in Florida on April 10, the Cardinal Meet set April 15 to 18 in Stanford, and the 10th Savona International Meeting in Savona, Italy on May 13 as she vies for a spot in the next Olympic games. (Ritchel Mendiola/AJPress)
