- A 16-year-old who bagged the first gold medal in the Palarong Pambansa has recruitment offers from top universities in the US
- Mia Niñura received offers from UCLA and USC to join their athletics team
- The 11th grader will need to discuss this option with her family and her coach who stand as her guardian
Congratulations are in order for the first gold medalist of the 2016 Palarong Pambansa, Mia Meagey Niñura, who just received recruitment offers from renowned universities in the United States (US), the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC).
The 16-year-old athlete hailing from the Davao Region won the year’s first gold medal in the secondary girls 3,000 meter event in the athletics category; breaking last year’s record of 10:10.6 and replacing it with 10:03.4. Last year’s record was attained by Jian Calis from Northern Mindanao.
Andrew William “Enzo” Pirie, a Filipino-New Zealander coach has been in touch with the UCLA Fil-Am runner Jessica Barnard on the possible future of Niñura. Pirie also contacted Niñura’s coach, Maylene Quimque, when he saw that Niñura trailed close behind Calis in their last match. He immediately saw the latter’s potential. Pirie is a member of the Zamboanga Peninsula coaching staff.
However, Quimque, who also serves as Niñura’s guardian, thinks that she is too young to travel to the United States. She is currently an eleventh grader.
Aside from offers from the United States, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila has also expressed their interest in recruiting Niñura for their college athletics team.
When local reporters asked the teen athlete what she thinks about going to the United States, she said she’s okay with it. Negotiations and discussions with her family about the offer to go to the United States once she enters college are ongoing.
Niñura is the only daughter of a farmer and a housewife who is challenged financially. Her inspiration behind her win is her coach and her parents.
“Sabi ko papanalunin ko po ito para maibalik ko naman po ‘yung paghihirap ng coach ko,” she said.
[I told myself I will win so I could give back to my coach what she worked hard for.]
Niñura also said that despite being an only child, she is aware of her parents’ hard work and sacrifice which inspires her to do her best.
It’s her first time to bag a gold medal in the 6 years that she has been participating in the sports event. She will be competing again in the 800 and 1,500 meters events.
Over the past 59 years, the Palarong Pambansa has produced world-class athletes. The likes include Elma Muros, Lydia De Vega, Akiko Thompson and Violito Paylo.
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