WIMBLEDON DRAMA: Serena battles through pain barrier to advance

Shortly after midnight, in between PS2 games of Uefa Champions League and NBA 2K7, I channel surfed, juggling through Star Sports, ESPN, HBO, Cinemax, ETC, Star World. I seldom miss Sportscenter at 1130 p.m. and had been following Wimbledon the past week. I had been watching happenings at Wimbledon unfold a few hours ago while I was at my desk in the office. There was nothing much going on because of the rain and play was again delayed. So with that in mind, I decided to pursue my Champions League ambitions using my thre favorite squads --- Manchester United (with Anderson, Nani and Hargreaves), Barcelona (without Henry) and Real Madrid (with Beckham). I stopped after steering the three clubs to the knockout stage.

So, while I was waiting for NBA 2K7 to load, I switched the channel to Star Sports. What I saw was perhaps one of the bravest performances in professional sports: Serena Williams in tears battling through the pain barrier, before a timely rain break allowed her to re-charge her batteries and finally break through the quarterfinals.

I admit I am not a big fan of Serena. Media has shaped and developed an image-based culture and they tend to dictate who is beautiful, apart from the skills and talent. That's partly the reason why I am a huge Maria Sharapova supporter ever since her masterful win over Williams at Wimbledon three years ago. Actually, it was a milestone for me and Maria: I was in Baguio City for the first time in my life, while she also won her first grandslam.

Going back to Serena, I was particularly inspired by her performance. It reminded me of famous quotes like "Adversity introduces a man to himself", "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" and "when the going gets tough, the tough gets going".

Williams was leading 6-2, 5-6, when she suffered the calf strain. She was barely able to walk, grimaced in pain and was in tears as she executed every serve and every return. Even so, her opponent, Daniela Hantuchova, perhaps out of concern and pity, seemed to have lost steam and refused to go for the kill. I can understand Hantuchova. She was in a dilemma as to whether she should be aggressive or just go through the motions seeing Williams in so much pain but still putting up a brave gallant fight will definitely have an adverse effect every opponent of hers.

After losing the tiebreak that forced a deciding set, Williams came back after the long break wearing long trousers that might have helped ease the pain. She broke Hantuchova in the sixth game before serving out giving her a 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2 triumph that will go down in Wimbledon lore as one of the bravest ever.

"I never had an injury like this ever, ever," Williams later said. "I didn't know what it was. When I went down I didn't expect to be able to get up. I just decided at one point it was over and I was going to die trying".

"I had a very bad acute muscle spasm in my left calf," Williams, who was shrieking while she was being treated, said. "Acute, as you know, is a really intense pain. I think I was crying at one point."

It seems Williams really has a penchant of coming up big everytime she's wounded and considering the rest she will have as rains continue to hit Wimbledon, that prompts me to install her as one of the top three favorites for the crown, after World No. 1 Justine Henin and Sharapova.

I did not catch Williams return to court. But her performance late in that second set was enough for me to set aside another NBA2K7 game. I've seen something special today and that gave me enough reason to doze off. *

Muros' influence helps hurdles queen

She marvels at the thought of being dubbed as the heir apparent to a living legend.

But Sheena Atilano, the new queen of Philippine hurdles, shrugs off any comparison to RP athletics great Elma Muros.

“It’s an honor (to be compared to Muros). But of course, there will only be one Elma Muros and it will be hard to equal what she has achieved,” the 27-year-old athlete from the sugar-producing city of La Carlota, Negros Occidental told the Inquirer.

But Atilano, who reset the Philippine standards in the 100-m hurdles with her 13.65 second-clocking in the Asian Athletics Grand Prix, acknowledged Muros’ contributions to her success.

“Kaya mo yan. Tyaga lang, tiis lang, sipag lang,” Muros would remind Atilano during training sessions at the Rizal Memorial oval.

Muros’ positive energy has apparently rubbed off on Atilano, who showed swift improvement, following a four-month training stint in Southern California in the US.

From her previous best of 14.46-seconds, a record she registered in a fifth place finish in the 2005 SEA Games, the 5-6 Atilano churned in a career time of 13.71 seconds in training and track meets in the US, before finally breaking Muros’ 16-year-old record of 13.66 seconds in Pune, India last Wednesday night.

In February, Atilano put her career as a content development associate for online messaging service Chikka Asia Inc., on hold and left for the US to train together with sprinter Ralph Waldy Soguilon under the supervision of Fil-Am coach Jerry Cablayan.

The training apparently has paid dividends for both athletes with Soguilon also breaking the 100-m and 200-m records and Atilano posting silver-bronze-bronze finishes in the three-leg grand prix held in Bangkok and Indian cities Guwahati and Pune.

“I may need to report for work on Tuesday,” she said, jokingly.

But Atilano, whose career touched off with an elementary girls’ long jump gold in the 1993 Palarong Pambansa, said she remains focused on bringing home her first SEA Games gold medal this year from Thailand.

“My target is 13.40 seconds because that was the record of the SEAG winner two years ago,” said Atilano, who defeated SEAG silver medalist Dede Erawati of Indonesia twice in the grand prix.

Concentrating on jumping events early in her career, Atilano started training for the hurdles only on her senior year at Dona Hortensia Salas Benedicto National High School. She made an immediate impact, capturing the gold for Western Visayas in the 1997 Palaro in Bicol.

Instead of moving to Manila, where a number of schools had offered her athletic scholarships and a slot in the national pool was within reach, she returned to Negros and finished with a degree in Management Information Systems from the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod.

Already blessed with a stable job and taking up her masters in special education at De La Salle, Atilano decided to give herself one last shot at athletics glory in 2005.

“I am more focused and determined now when it comes to my athletic career,” said Atilano, who, at 25, was probably one of the oldest athletes to break into the national pool two years ago.

The supposed swan song did not produce a medal in the SEA Games and only left Atilano more motivated.

Good thing, Atilano said, that there were people around her who were very supportive, among them De La Salle’s Terry Capistrano and Muros’ husband, athletics coach Jojo Posadas.

“I’m just blessed with people who are very supportive in my career,” she said.

While Atilano is quick to dismiss any affinity with Muros and is nowhere near the athletics legend’s impressive record of 15 SEA Games gold medals, they share something in common: A passion for athletic excellence.

“I just want to excel and maximize my talent. This is my passion and it gives me self satisfaction,” Atilano added. *Cedelf P. Tupas