Naomi Cesar snares silver in Youth Olympic Games

Roughly a year after surprisingly capturing a SEA Games gold at the very young age of 16, Naomi Cesar is steadily proving herself as Philippine athletics’ next big thing.

The now 17-year old trackster had a Youth Olympic Games to remember in Dakar, Senegal after winning the women’s 800m silver medal on Monday at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop and finally breaking through for the Philippines after more than a week of competition.

Fueled by inspiring words from two-time Olympic gold medalist and former marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge, Cesar turned on the jets in the final 100 meters to become the first Filipina YOG medalist.

Cesar clocked two minutes and 9.34 seconds, crossing the line more than four seconds behind Netsanet Selemon of Ethiopia, who took the gold in two minutes and 4.43 seconds. Khadija Elmostaqim of Morocco finished third, almost a second slower than Cesar.

“I was kind of waiting for the end to just turn it on and go,” said Cesar. “I just told myself that when I start running, no one can catch me, and I can catch whoever I set my eyes on. So, I just trusted in myself.”

“It still doesn’t feel real,” she added. “When I crossed the line, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just medaled at the Youth Olympics! It’s just so unreal, but I’m so happy and so proud of myself.”

Cesar’s silver was Philippine athletics’ first medal in the YOG and matched Christian Tio’s silver in sailing in the 2018 Buenos Aires YOG.

Luis Gabriel Moreno won a gold in archery at the 2014 Nanjing Games together with a Chinese athlete in the mixed-National Olympic Committee event. But the International Olympic Committee ruled that mixed-NOC medals are not officially credited to any single NOC.