ILOILO City – Ilongga rookie jumper Alexie Mae Caimoso Brooks of the National University Lady Bulldogs’ athletics team was recently chosen to be part of the national athletics training pool.
The Leon, Iloilo-native was delighted with the selection as it opened a chance for her to fight for a slot in the heptathlon event of the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
“Ang saya lang to be chosen sa national training pool because I have really worked so hard the past years. It’s a dream na makasali sa national team. Being part of the pool puts me closer to that,” Brooks said.
She added: “Not everyone is given with this kind of opportunity. I will continue to work hand. With God’s grace and the people who have been pushing me to become the person that I have been dreaming my whole life, I believe I can do it.”
Brooks was a many-time gold medal winner as a high-jump athlete in the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association Meet and the Palarong Pambansa under head coach Noel Diel.
“To be honest, I was surprised when I was told that I was named as part of the national training pool but maybe they saw the potential in me, or maybe they saw my previous matches,” she said.
Although the status of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) athletics competition is still in the air due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the country, Brooks still continues to improve her form by training in her hometown.
“I was really excited for my UAAP debut but with the COVID-19 outbreak, it is still tentative,” Brooks said. “But, tuloy lang ang training ko dito. I even made a makeshift pit to continue my training even during quarantine.”/PN
