MANILA, 28 November 2005 — Southeast Asian records in women’s high jump and pole vault were broken yesterday, the opening day of the region’s version of the Olympics.
Nearly 4,000 officials, coaches and athletes from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Timor are competing for 439 gold medals in 41 events in the biennial Southeast Asian Games.
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared the games open amid parades, music and fireworks and some 300,000 people witnessed the lighting of the torch in Manila’s Luneta Park. Five thousand police officers and soldiers are providing security because of threats of terrorism and fears of bird flu.
The Philippines opened the day with gold medals in the women’s long jump, women’s synchronized diving and two from dance sport, but the limelight belonged to women athletes from Malaysia and Vietnam who broke games records.
Vietnamese Bui Thi Nhong leapt 1.89 meters in high jump, breaking the games record by a centimeter, but still way below the Asian record of 1.97 meters.
Roselinda Samsu of Malaysia cleared 4.10 meters in the pole vault to set a games record, eclipsing the 3.95 meters set in Vietnam two years ago. Thailand, who were top in athletics at the last games, won only two bronze medals in three finals on Sunday.
The games began without the basketball event, the most popular team sport in the Philippines, which was dropped because of a feud among Philippine sports officials.
The Philippines is hosting the regional games for the third time since joining the multi-sport event in 1977, when it was known as the South East Asian Peninsular Games.
“We expect the Philippines to finish strong in this year’s games,” said Michael Keon, a former head of the Philippine Olympic Committee. “It would be a three-way fight for the overall championship among Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.” Vietnam topped the medals table at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi while Thailand, who staged the first games in 1959, have won the most number of championships in the 23 stagings of the event.
Southeast Asian royalty and separatist leaders were at the opening ceremonies and will take part in some events. A Thai princess is seeking a gold medal in badminton, one of the world-class events in the games.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest of four homegrown separatist groups in the southern Philippines, sent a four-member delegation at the government’s invitation.
Avelino Razon, a police general and head of security for the games, said they had adequate forces to thwart any attempt by separatists to disrupt the games and embarrass the government. Authorities have also taken measures to prevent the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus from entering the country, including disinfectant foot baths and thermal cameras to measure body temperatures at Manila’s international airport.
