FOLLOWING AN injury-riddled preparation, Thomasian standout Hokett delos Santos displayed pure grit to capture his first gold in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games men’s decathlon at the Suphachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, Dec. 12.
Delos Santos, fresh off back-to-back MVP seasons in the UAAP, finished strong in the two-day athletic event, clocking in 4:52.22 to amass 6,917 points.
Before the start of the biennial games, the Tiger Trackster endured a groin injury that halted his training for two months.
Despite the setback, Delos Santos responded by besting fellow Filipino Janry Ubas (6,573 points) and bringing the decathlon gold back to the Philippines for the first time since 2019.
The three-time UAAP champion also denied the triple gold bid of Thailand’s Suttisak Singkhon, who fell short with 6,649 points and settled for silver. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Richard Idan Fauzan edged out Ubas by a slim margin (6,582 points) to close out the podium.
Delos Santos had previously earned a silver medal in the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, only behind fellow Thomasian and friend EJ Obiena in the men’s pole vault.
With the victory, Delos Santos became the third Thomasian to clinch a gold medal for the Philippines this year, following the gold medals won by Tachiana Mangin and Justin Kobe Macario in taekwondo. F – Ezekiel Bechaida
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