Beram
KUALA LUMPUR— Athletics continues to lead the way or Team Philippines in the 29th Southeast Asian Games here, with four gold medals already in the bag.
One of those golds came from someone who would be comfortable being labeled either a jock or a nerd.
Trenten Anthony Beram, who ruled the 200-meter sprint late Wednesday night, is a math major at University of Connecticut back in the United States. He is born to a Filipino mother from Mandaue City.
But Beram’s academics temporarily took a back seat to athletics as he helped save the day for Team Philippines, which was headed to a gold-less outing late Wednesday until Beram and decathlete Aries Toledo reeled in a victory each.
“I knew that I was coming in as a rookie; nobody knows me so it is good to put my name out there,” said Beram.
“I thought top three (in the men’s 200) would be good so winning the gold is a bonus,” added Beram, who crossed the finish in 20.96 seconds.
While most athletes based abroad are recruited, Beram is a certified “walk-in.”
He reached out to the Philippine Athletic Track and Field Association wanting to join its weekly relays.
“He went straight to us and inquired how to go about playing for Philippine team,” said athletics official Edward Kho.
Beram worked to obtain dual citizenship to be able to represent the Philippines here.
Beram shocked the field with a gold medal performance in the 200m dash. He was to see action in 400m and relays in the coming days. “The hard work paid off,” said Beram. “This is only the beginning.”